LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


557 


v.l 
cop.  2 

I  .H.S- 


ECONOMICAL 


GEOLOGY  OF    LL1NOIS. 


REPRINTED    FROM  THE   ORIGINAL   REPORTS  OF   THE 

GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY,  WITH  ADDITIONS 

AND. EMENDATIONS, 


BY 

A.   H.   WORTH  EN, 

STATE    GEOLOGIST. 


VOLUME    1. 


PUBLISHED  BY  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  ILLINOIS. 

1882.' 


H.  W.  BOKKER,  STATE  PRINTER  AND  BINDER. 
SPRINGFIELD,  ILLINOIS. 


\ 


- 


Ji*  **V 

v.i 

,  A 


TABLE  OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER,      I. 

PHYSICAL  FEATURES,  GENERAL,  PRINCIPLES,  AND  SURFACE  GEOLOGY.  Pages 

By  A.  H.  Worthen 1-30 


CHAPTER      II. 

STRATIGRAPHICAL  GEOLOGY;   TERTIARY  (?)  DEPOSITS  AND   COAL  MEASURES. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen...  31-59 


CHAPTER      III. 
ti 

LOWER  CARBONIFEROUS  LIMESTONES. 

f  By  A.  H.  Worthen  ..  60-91 


CHAPTERIV. 

DEVONIAN  AND   SILURIAN  SYSTEMS. 
-t-> 

By  A.  H.  Worthen 92-117 


CHAPTER      V. 
CU 

GEOLOGY  OF  THE  LEAD  REGION 

By  J.D.  Whitney 118-162 

«M 
O 

CHAPTER      VI. 
r— 4 

THE  COAL  FIELDS  OF  ILLINOIS. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen...  163-177 


CHAPTER      VII. 

THE  ORIGIN  AND  FORMATION  OP  PRAIRIES. 

By  Leo  Lesauereux 178-190 


IV  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER      VIII. 

CHEMICAL    KEPOET.  PagCS 

By  J.  V.Z.  Blaney 191-209 


CHAPTER      IX. 

GEOLOGY  OF  RANDOLPH  COUNTY. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen 210-230 

CHAPTER      X. 

GEOLOGY  OF  ST.   CLAIB  COUNTY. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen 231-248 

CHAPTER      XI. 

GEOLOGY   OF  MADISON  COUNTY. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen 249-263 

CHAPTER      XII. 

GEOLOGY  OF  HANCOCK  COUNTY. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen .' 264-290 

CHAPTER      XIII. 

GEOLOGY  OF  HAKDIN  COUNTY. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen  and  Henry  Engelmann 291-319 

CHAPTER      XIV. 

GEOLOGY  OF  JOHNSON  COUNTY. 

By  Honry  Engelmann : 320-357 

CHAPTER      XV. 

GEOLOGY  OF  PULASKI  COUNTY. 

By  Henry  Engelmann 358-378 

CHAPTER      XV  I. 

GEOLOGY  OF  MASSAC  AND    PART  OF  POPE  COUNTIES. 

I5y  Henry  Engelmann 379-410 


TABLE     OF    CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE      XVII. 

>  GEOLOGY     OF     POPE     COUNTY.  Pag6S 

By  Henry  Engelmann  ............................................................  .........  411-456 


CHAPTER      XVIII. 

GEOLOGY  OF  ALEXANDER  COUNTY. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen  ................  .  .........................................  .  ................  457-472 

CHAPTER      XIX. 

GEOLOGY     OF     UNION     COUNTY. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen  ...........................................................................  473-501 

CHAPTER      XX. 

GEOLOGY  OF  JACKSON  COUNTY. 

By  A.  H.  Worthen  .............  T  .............................................................  502-531 


To  the  Hon.  SHELBY  M.  CULLOM, 

Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois  : 

SIR — I  have  the  honor  of  submitting  herewith,  for  publication,  the 
first  volume  of  the  Economical  Geology  of  Illinois,  the  publication 
of  which  was  provided  for  by  an  act  of  the  Thirty-second  General 
Assembly,  approved  May  26,  1881.  This  act  required,  and  provided 
for,  the  republication,  in  three  volumes,  of  all  that  portion  of  the 
six  volumes  of  the  original  reports  that  related  to  the  Economical 
Geology  of  the  State,  and  I  have  made  such  additions  and  emenda- 
tions as  time  and  circumstances  permitted.  The  succeeding  volumes 
are  now  ready  for  the  press,  and  will  be  printed  as  rapidly  as 

possible. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain 

* 

Your  obedient  servant, 

A.  H.  WOBTHEN. 


CHAPTER    I. 


PHYSICAL  FEATURES,   GENERAL   PRINCIPLES,   AND 
SURFACE  GEOLOGY. 


PHYSICAL   FEATUEES. 

It  is  an  axiom  of  general  application  in  geological  science,  that 
there  is  an  intimate  relation  existing  between  the  physical  geography 
and  the  geological  history  of  every  portion  of  the  earth's  surface; 
and  in  all  cases  the  topographical  features  of  a  country  are  moulded 
by,  and  therefore  must  be,  to  some  extent  at  least,  a  reflection  of 
its  geological  structure,  and  the  changes  it  has  undergone  from  the 
surface  agencies  of  more  modern  times.  The  varied  conditions  of 
mountain  and  valley,  deep  gorge  and  level  plain,  are  not  the  results 
of  chance,  but,  on  the  contrary,  are  just  as  much  due  to  the  opera- 
tions of  natural  laws,  as  the  rotation  of  the  earth,  or  the -growth  and 
continued  existence  of  the  various  species  of  animals  and  plants 
which  inhabit  its  surface.  Moreover,  all  the  varied  conditions  of  the 
soil  and  its  productive  capacities,  which  may  be  observed  in  different 
portions  even  of  our  own  State,  are  traceable  to  causes  existing  in 
the  geological  history  of  that  particular  region,  and  to  the  surface 
agencies  which  have  served  to  modify  the  whole,'  and  prepare  the 
earth  for  the  reception  and  sustenance  of  the  existing  races  of  beings. 
Hence  we  see  that  the  geological  history  of  a  country  determines  its 
agricultural  capacities,  and  also  the  amount  of  population  which  it 
may  sustain,  and  the  general  avocations  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  State  of  Illinois  embraces  a  geographical  area  of  about  56,000 
square  miles,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  State  of  Wisconsin, 
on  the  east  by  Lake  Michigan,  the  State  of  Indiana  and  the  Wabash 
river,  on  the  south  by  the  Ohio,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Mississippi. 
For  nearly  three-fourths  of  its  entire  circumference  it  is  bounded  by 
navigable  waters,  which  afford  facilities  for  the  cheap  transportation 


2  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

of  its  products  equaled  by  few  of  the  neighboring  States  and  sur- 
passed by  none. 

In  general  form  this  State  approaches  an  irregular  ellipsoid,  trun- 
cated at  its  northern  extremity.  Its  extreme  length,  from  north  to 
south,  is  three  hundred  and  seventy-eight  miles,  and  its  greatest 
breadth  two  hundred  and  ten  miles.  It  embraces  a  climatic  range 
of  five  and  a  half  degrees  of  latitude,  and  consequently  comprises  a 
greater  variety  in  its  zoological  and  botanical  productions  than  can 
be  found  within  the  area  of  any  other  State  in  the  Union.  In  the 
extreme  southern  part  of  the  State,  both  the  animal  and  vegetable 
productions  partake  of  an  almost  semi-tropical  character,  while  in 
the  northern  portion  we  find  mostly  those  forms  which  characterize 
the  northern  temperate  zone.  Hence  it  affords  an  exceedingly  varied 
and  interesting  field  of  exploration  to  the  botanist  and  zoologist,  and  it 
is  a  matter  of  regret  to  every  lover  of  natural  science  in  this  country, 
that  a  State  holding  the  proud  position  in  wealth  and  intelligence 
now  sustained  by  Illinois,  should  have  taken  no  steps  to  secure  a 
more  complete  knowledge  of  its  indigenous  productions  in  these 
departments  of  natural  history.  Many  species  of  mammalia  are  now 
exceedingly  rare,  or  no  longer  exist  within  the  limits  of  the  State, 
and  the  labor  of  making  a  complete  collection  of  living  species  is 
every  year  becoming  more  difficult,  and  will,  ere  long,  be  quite  impos- 
sible. Much  has  already  been  done,  by  the  industrious  naturalists 
of  the  State,  at  their  own  expense ;  and  a  very  moderate  expenditure 
of  money,  on  the  part  of  the  State,  would  enable  them  to  complete 
the  Vork,  and  to  place  the  results,  in  a  useful  form,  in  the  hands 
of  the  people. 

The  general  slope  of  the  water  shed,  and  the  course  of  the  inte- 
rior system  of  drainage,  is  to  the  southwest;  and  nearly  all  the 
principal  streams  in  the  interior  of  the  State,  after  a  general  course 
in  that  direction,  empty  into  the  Mississippi.  The  Illinois,  which 
is  formed  by  the  junction  of  DesPlaines  and  the  .Kankakee,  the 
former  rising  in  Wisconsin  and  the  latter  in  Indiana,  traverses  the 
northern  half  of  the  State  diagonally  in  a  southwesterly  direction, 
and  empties  into  the  Mississippi  forty  miles  above  St.  Louis.  Eock 
river  rises  in  Wisconsin,  and,  after  it  enters  Illinois,  has  a  general 
southwest  course,  and  empties  into  the  Mississippi  just  below  the 
Upper  Rapids.  It  drains  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  fertile 
regions  in  the  State.  The  Okaw  or  Kaskaskia  river  rises  near  the 
eastern  boundary  of  the  State,  about  midway  between  its  northern 
and  southern  extremities,  and,  after  a  general  southwest  course, 
flows  into  the  Mississippi  about  one  hundred  miles  above  the  city 


PHYSICAL    FEATURES.  O 

of  Cairo.  South  of  the  Okaw  the  streams  are  comparatively  small. 
Those  on  the  eastern  borders  of  the  State  empty  into  the  Wabash, 
while  those  on  the  west  find  an  outlet  in  the  Mississippi. 

Although  the  face  of  the  country  is  generally  level  or  gently 
rolling,  there  are  some  portions  of  the  State  considerably  more 
elevated  than  others.  The  highest  lands  in  the  State  are  those 
along  its  northern  limit,  between  Freeport  and  Galena,  where  the 
elevations,  locally  known  as  the  "mounds,"  culminate  in  points  of 
elevation  from  eight  hundred  and  fifty  to  nine  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  river  at  Cairo,  and  from  five  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  to  five  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  above  Lake  Michigan,  and 
from  eleven  hundred  to  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  above  the  ocean's 
level,  and  from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  country. 

From  Freeport  southward,  along  the  line  of  the  Illinois  Centraj 
railroad,  there  is  a  gradual  descent  to  the  valley  of  the  Big  Muddy 
river,  in  Jackson  county,  where  the  level  of  the  railroad  grade  is 
only  fifty-five  feet  above  that  of  the  river  at  Cairo.  From  this 
point  there  is  a  rapid  rise  in  the  country  toward  the  south,  and  at 
Cobden  the  railroad  intersects  a  mountain  ridge  crossing  the  southern 
portion  of  the  State,  with  an  elevation  of  five  or  six  hundred  feet 
above  the  river  level  at  Cairo. 

This  ridge  is  the  eastward  extension  of  an  axis  of  elevation  or 
uplift,  which  brings  the  St.  Peters  sandstone  of  the  lower  Silurian, 
above  the  surface  at  Bailey's  Landing,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  tilts  up  the  Devonian  limestone  at  the  "Bake 
Oven"  and  "Bald  Bluff,"  in  Jackson  county,  at  an  angle  of  about 
25°,  and  after  elevating  the  upper  portion  of  the  lower  Carboniferous 
limestone  above  the  surface,  entirely  across  the  southern  portion  of 
the  State,  finally  crosses  the  Ohio  in  the  vicinity  of  Shawneetown, 
and  is  lost  beneath  the  Coal  Measures  of  Kentucky. 

The  elevations  already  mentioned  in  Northwestern  Illinois,  known 
as  the  "mounds,"  are  no  doubt  the  result  of  denuding  forces  acting 
upon  the  surface,  which  have  swept  away  the  surrounding  strata, 
leaving  these  isolated  hills  as  the  only  remaining  indications  of  the 
former  level  of  the  adjacent  region.  On  the  contrary,  the  mountain 
ridge  last  described  as  extending  across  the  southern  portion  of  the 
State,  has  resulted  from  the  dislocation  and  upheaval  of  the  strata 
by  forces  acting  from  beneath ;  and  these  two  causes— upheaval  and 
denudation — have  produced  all  the  principal  mountain  chains  upon 
the  surface  of  our  globe.  The  determination  of  the  point  as  to 
which  of  these  causes  a  mountain  elevation  is  due,  is  by  no  means 


4  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

difficult.  If  the  strata  forming  the  elevation  lie  in  their  original 
horizontal  position,  the  mountain  owes  its  existence  to  the  first 
named  cause,  or  the  removal  of  the  surrounding  strata  by  denuding 
forces;*  but  if  the  strata  are  dislocated  and  tilted  at  a  high  angle 
from  their  original  horizontal  position,  then  the  elevation  may  be 
attributed  to  upheaving  forces,  or,  perhaps,  as  is  sometimes  the 
case,  to  the  conjoint  action  of  both  causes.  Mound-like  elevations 
are  very  common  on  the  prairies  in  some  portions  of  the  State,  and 
some  of  them  attain  to  a  height  of  fifty  or  a  hundred  feet  above 
the  general  level;  they  are  often  covered  with  a  fine  growth  of 
timber,  and  appear  like  island  groves  in  an  ocean  of  prairie.  These 
may  be  due  to  the  removal,  by  erosion,  of  the  surrounding  super- 
ficial deposits,  or  to  the  uneven  character  of  the  underlying  strata 
before  the  drift  was  deposited,  resulting  from  similar  causes. 

There  are  four  other  principal  axes  of  disturbance  along  the  western 
and  northern  borders  of  the  State,  in  addition  to  the  one  just  men- 
tioned, besides  several  of  minor  importance.  The  most  northerly  one 
crosses  the  north  line  of  the  State,  in  Stephenson  county,  and  inter- 
sects Eock  river  at  Grand  de  Tour,  and  the  Illinois  at  Split  Kock, 
between  LaSalle  and  Utica.  This  uplift  brings  the  St.  Peters  sand- 
stone to  the  surface  on  Eock  river,  and  the  lower  Magnesian  limestone 
(Lower  Silurian)  on  the  Illinois.  Its  general  trend  is  from  N.  N.  W. 
to  S.  S.  E.,  and  its  extent  southward  beyond  the  Illinois  has  not  yet 
been  determined.  It  elevates  the  coal  measures  to  the  surface,  in 
the  vicinity  of  LaSalle,  from  a  depth  of  from  three  to  four  hundred 
feet,  thus  showing  that  the  disturbance  took  place  at  a  period  sub- 
sequent to  the  deposition  of  the  coal  formation. 

On  descending  the  Mississippi  from  the  north  line  of  the  State, 
the  first  important  disturbance  met  with  is  at  Cap  au  Ores,  in  Cal- 
houn  county.  Here  we  find  a  dislocation  of  the  strata  and  a  down- 
throw of  the  beds  on  the  south  side  of  the  axis,  of  at  least  a  thousand 
feet.  The  bluff  known  as  the  Cap  au  Ores,  or  Sandstone  Cape,  is 
formed  by  the  St.  Peters  sandstone  and  a  magnesian  limestone, 
probably  representing  the  base  of  the  Trenton  or  the  Black  river 
limestone.  These  beds  have  a  gentle  inclination  or  dip  to  the  north- 
east of  about  0  to  8°.  Immediately  below  this  bluff,  and  separated 
from  it  only  by  a  narrow  ravine,  we  find  the  Burlington  limestone 
of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series,  with  the  strata  in  a  nearly  vertical 

*There  may  be  a  few  exceptions  to  this  general  rule— such  as.  for  instance,  where  a 
mountain  mass  has  been  bodily  elevated  without  tilting  its  strata.  Such  cases  are  not 
common,  and  the  exception  would  never  apply  to  mountain  chains. 


PHYSICAL   FEATURES.  5 

posture,  and  dipping  in  a  nearly  opposite  direction  from  the  sand- 
stone of  the  bluff  above.  This  limestone,  if  occupying  its  normal 
position  above  the  sandstone,  would  be  separated  from  it  by  a  part 
of  the  Lower  Silurian  and  the  whole  of  the  Upper  Silurian  and 
Devonian  systems,  comprising  a  thickness  of  nearly  a  thousand 
feet  of  rock  strata.  When  this  sandstone  bluff  was  first  elevated 
above  the  surface,  it  was  no  doubt  a  mountain  mass  of  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  height,  but  has  been  subsequently  reduced 
to  its  present  elevation  by  denuding  forces.  This  axis  crosses  the 
Illinois  about  five  or  six  miles  above  its  mouth,  in  Jersey  county, 
and  brings  to  the  surface  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  of  the  upper  part 
of  the  Trenton  limestone  in  the  bluffs  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
river.  It  forms  an  anticlinal  axis,  with  a  double  line  of  bluffs,  sepa- 
rated by  a  narrow  valley,  on  that  side  of  the  river,  for  a  distance 
of  three  or  four  miles,  when  it  again  strikes  the  Mississippi  by  the 
eastern  bend  of  the  river  and  is  lost  in  the  river  valley.  Its  trend 
is  W.  10°  N.  by  E.  10°  S. 

Below  St.  Louis  we  find  another  axis,  near  the  south  line  of  St. 
Clair  county,  where  the  strata  have  been  again  dislocated,  leaving 
the  St.  Louis  limestone,  on  the  lower  side  of  the  axis,  inclining  to 
the  southwest  at  an  angle  of  about  -0°.  The  trend  of  this  axis  is 
from  N.  20°  W.  to  S.  20°  E.,  and  it  passes  about  half  a  mile  east 
of  the  town  of  Columbia,  in  Monroe  county. 

At  Salt  Lick  Point,  in  Monroe  'county,  we  find  another  dislocation 
and  downthrow  of  the  strata,  which  is  no  doubt  a  continuation  of 
the  axis  which  crosses  the  Mississippi  at  Platin  Eock,  in  Missouri, 
bringing  up,  at  that  point,  a  portion  of  the  St.  Peters  sandstone  to 
the  surface.  In  the  bluffs,  on  the  Illinois  shore,  the  nucleus  of  the 
axis  is  formed  by  the  Trenton  limestone. 

Passing  the  axis  already  mentioned  at  the  "Bake  Oven,"  in  Jack- 
son county,  we  find  the  next  important  point  of  disturbance  crossing 
the  Mississippi  at  the  "Grand  Chain,"  in  Alexander  county.  Here 
the  Trenton  limestone  is  again  elevated,  forming  a  dangerous  reef 
of  rocks,  extending  entirely  across  the  river,  and  also  a  limestone 
bluff  on  the  Illinois  shore,  about  seventy  feet  in  height.  The  trend 
of  this  axis  appears  to  be  from  N.  W.  to  S.  E.,  and  it  probably 
crosses  the  Ohio  a  few  miles  above  Caledonia,  in  Pulaski  county 
where  the  St.  Louis  limestone  forms  a  reef  of  rocks,  known  as  the 
"Grand  Chain,"  entirely  across  that  stream. 

It  is  quite  impossible,  with  the  evidence  before  us  at  this  time,  to 
fix  with  certainty  the  relative  date  of  these  disturbances ;  but  it  seems 
quite  probable  that  none  of  them  date  back  to  a  period  anterior  to 


6  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  Carboniferous  epoch;  for  we  find,  in  general,  no  want  of  con- 
formity between  the  uplifted  strata  and  any  of  the  superincumbent 
paleozoic  beds. 

If  we  could  strip  off  from  the  surface  of  the  State  the  superficial 
deposits  of  sand,  clay  and  gravel  which  now  cover  it  to  the  depth 
of  ten  to  one  hundred  feet,  or  more,  we  should  find  it  intersected 
by  broad  and  deep  valleys,  cut  into  the  solid  rock  strata  to  a  depth 
varying  from  one  to  three  hundred  feet.  These  valleys  were  probably 
excavated,  in  part,  at  least,  by  streams  of  water,  but  may  have 
been  greatly  enlarged  by  the  joint  action  of  ice  and  currents  of 
water,  perhaps  during  a  period  of  submergence,  and  these  valleys 
were  afterwards  filled,  either  wholly  or  in  part,  by  the  superficial 
material  called  drift,  which  now  occupies  them.  They  form,  as  it 
were,  the  entire  system  of  river  drainage  for  the  State,  being  occu- 
pied by  the  principal  streams  within  its  borders.  That  they  were 
not  formed  entirely  by  the  streams  that  now  occupy  them  is  indi- 
cated by  several  well  known  facts.  In  the  first  place,  the  streams 
themselves  are  entirely  inadequate  to  the  formation  of  such  broad 
valleys,  excavated  as  these  are,  to  the  depth  of  several  hundred  feet 
in  hard  limestone  rock.  In  the  second  place,  the  breadth  of  the 
valley  which  our  rivers  now  occupy  bears  no  relative  proportion  to 
the  size  of  the  stream  or  the  force  of  the  current,  as  may  be  seen 
by  comparing  the  relative  size  of  the  valleys  of  the  Illinois  and  the 
Mississippi.  The  former,  though  comparatively  of  small  size,  and 
with  a  sluggish  current,  occupies  a  valley  scarcely  less  in  breadth 
than  the  latter,  which  contains  a  volume  of  water  at  least  six  times 
as  great  as  the  Illinois,  and  a  current  of  at  least  twice  the  velocity 
of  the  latter  stream.  They  therefore  seem  to  be  ancient  valleys, 
formed,  mainly,  at  a  period  anterior  to  the  Drift  epoch.  The  alluvial 
valley  in  which  the  Mississippi  now  winds  its  southward  course 
along  the  western  borders  of  the  State,  varies  in  width  from  five  to 
ten  miles,  with  only  a  few  points,  at  wide  intervals,  where  its  waters 
are  circumscribed  by  the  approach  of  limestone  bluffs  on  either  side. 
In  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Madison,  Iowa,  the  western  part  of  the  valley, 
for  two-thirds  of  its  entire  width  (which  is  here  from  six  to  seven 
miles),  is  filled  with  unaltered  drift  deposits  to  the  depth  of  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  there  are  many  other  points 
where  the  same  phenomenon  may  be  observed.  Along  the  principal 
streams  we  also  find  terraces  of  modified  drift.  This  term  is  applied 
to  those  drift  deposits  which  have  subsequently  been  subjected  to  a 
sifting  process  by  the  action  of  the  waves  or  currents  of  water,  and 
this  change  was  probably  effected  while  the  water  in  these  valleys 


PHYSICAL    FEATUKES.  I 

flowed  at  a  considerably  higher  level  than  the  highest  water-mark 
of  the  existing  rivers.  The  cities  of  Peoria  and  Havana,  on  the 
Illinois,  and  Oquawka  and  New  Boston,  on  the  Mississippi,  are  built 
upon  terraces  of  modified  drift. 

Most  of  the  smaller  streams,  especially  those  in  the  central  and 
southern  portions  of  the  State,  traverse  valleys  filled  with  super- 
ficial material  to  such  a  depth  that  the  comparatively  small  streams 
which  now  occupy  them  do  not  cut  through  this  drift  material,  and 
consequently  the  stratified  rocks  are  but  rarely  exposed  in  some 
portions  of  the  State,  and  in  many  cases  it  becomes  exceedingly 
difficult  to  trace  out  the  sequence  of  the  strata  from  the  meagre 
exposures  of  the  subordinate  beds  to  be  found  along  the  streams. 

The  amount  of  erosion  which  has  been  accomplished  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi, within  a  comparatively  recent  time,  is  well  illustrated,  on 
both  the  upper  and  lower  rapids,  by  a  band  of  bleached  fresh-water 
shells,  that  may  be  seen  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  appearing,  from 
a  distance,  like  a  chalk  line  drawn  along  the  river  shore,  and 
extending  the  whole  length  of  the  rapids  on  either  side.  It  is  from 
six  inches  to  two  feet  in  thickness,  and  from  ten  (10)  to  twenty  (20) 
feet  above  the  present  channel  of  the  river.  It  is  composed  entirely 
of  the  water-worn  shells  of  the  existing  species  of  mollusks  still 
found  in  the  river,  and  no  doubt  marks  an  original  horizon  of  the 
river  bed.  This  gives  us  a  channel  in  the  limestone  rock  from  ten 
to  twenty  feet  in  depth,  and  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  a 
mile  in  width,  as  the  maximum  result  of  the  erosive  power  of  the 
Mississippi,  under  such  favorable  conditions  as  an  accelerated 
current  fully  twice  as  great  as  the  average  velocity,  either  above  or 
below  the  rapids,  and  in  limestone  strata  not  very  much  harder 
than  the  average  of  the  rock  formations  of  the  Mississippi  valley; 
and  these  observations  will,  perhaps,  enable  us  to  realize,  to  some 
extent  at  least,  how  inadequate  the  erosive  power  of  the  present 
river  currents  would  be  to  excavate  the  entire  valley,  which  it  now 
but  partially  occupies. 

The  prairies  form  one  of  the  most  notable  features  in  the  topo- 
graphy of  the  State,  and  the  phenomena  connected  with  the  general 
distribution  of  the  prairie  and  timbered  lands  present  many  curious 
and  interesting  facts.  As  a  general  rule,  the  prairies  occupy  the 
high  lands,  and  the  timber  the  low  grounds  along  the  breaks  and 
valleys  of  the  streams.  But  we  find  there  are  frequent  exceptions 
to  this  rule,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  frequent  mound-like  elevations 
which  often  occur  in  the  middle  of  a  wide  prairie,  and  are  covered 
with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber — showing  that  our  forest  growths  are 


8  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

not  determined  by  the  elevation  of  the  surface,  but  are  due  to  some 
other  cause. 

Much  has  been  written,  in  the  last  few  years,  on  the  formation  of 
prairies;  but  we  do  not  propose  to  discuss,  at  the  present  time, 
the  comparative  merits  of  the  various  theories  which  have  been 
promulgated  by  different  authors  in  regard  to  their  formation,  but 
rather  to  refer  the  reader  to  the  very  able  chapter  on  this  subject, 
in  another  part  of  this  report,  by  Prof.  LEO  LESQUEEEUX,  whose 
thorough  acquaintance,  both  with  fossil  and  recent  botany,  and  the 
general  laws  which  govern  the  distribution  of  the  ancient  as  well 
as  the  recent  flora,  entitles  his  opinions  upon  this  subject  to  our 
most  profound  consideration. 


GENERAL    PRINCIPLES. 

Geology  is  that  department  of  natural  science  which  treats  of  the 
earth's  structure  and  development,  and  it  carries  us  back,  through 
a  regular  sequence  of  cause  and  effect,  to  a  period  when  the  mate- 
rial of  which  it  is  composed  existed  in  a  state  of  fusion,  or  in  other 
words,  when  the  earth  was  a  globe  of  liquid  fire.  The  radiation  of 
heat  from  the  surface  resulted  in  the  gradual  cooling  of  the  mass, 
and  thus  the  first  rocks  were  formed,  as  modern  igneous  rocks  are 
now  formed,  by  the  cooling  of  molten  mineral  matter  ejected  from 
existing  volcanos. 

According  to  the  teachings  of  Geology,  the  earth  has  been  in  pro- 
cess of  creation  through  countless  ages,  and  has  arrived  at  its  pres- 
ent condition  by  regular  stages  of  growth  or  development,  in  some 
respects  analogous  to  those  which  characterize  the  life  of  an  animal ; 
and  these  have  been  effected  by  the  same  general  laws  of  progres- 
sive development  which  characterize  every  department  of  nature,  and 
apply  with  equal  force  to  the  mineral,  the  vegetable,  and  the  animal 
kingdoms. 

All  matter,  from  the  minutest  globule,  revealed  to  the  eye  of  man 
by  the  microscope,  to  the  grandest  world  which  revolves  in  the 
regions  of  space  around  the  great  central  sun  of  the  universe,  is 
alike  subject  to  the  control  of  unchanging  laws,  and  through  these 
laws  are  each  and  all  made  subservient  to  the  great  end  for  which 
they  exist.  Through  the  operation  of  these  laws  order  has  been 
evolved  out  of  chaos,  and  the  earth  has  been  fitted  and  prepared  as 
a  fitting  habitation  for  the  existing  races  of  beings,  with  Man  at 
their  head. 


GENENAL    PRINCIPLES. 

Viewed  in  this  light,  and  accepting  all  the  demonstrable  facts  of 
natural  science,  how  grand  does  the  scheme  of  creation  appear,  and 
how  eminently  worthy  of  the  conception  of  the  Divine  Mind. 

These  changes  have  been  going  on  from  a  time  that,  to  our  con- 
ception, is  inconceivably  remote ;  and  the  human  mind  utterly  fails 
to  grasp  the  immense  duration  of  the  periods  in  the  earth's  history, 
which  have  preceded  the  creation  of  the  existing  races  of  beings. 
We  might  as  well  attempt  to  enumerate  the  grains  of  sand  required 
to  form  a  solid  globe  like  the  earth,  or  the  drops  of  water  contained 
in  all  the  oceans  upon  its  surface,  or  the  number  of  cubic  inches  in 
the  regions  of  infinite  space,  as  to  calculate  the  number  of  years  that 
have  rolled  away  since  the  earth  commenced  its  revolutions  round 
the  sun.  Hence  geological  time  is  estimated  by  periods  only,  and 
each  of  these  periods  is  of  immense  duration,  according  to  our  lim- 
ited ideas  of  time. 

The  eternity  of  the  past  is  as  incomprehensible  to  the  finite  mind 
as  the  eternity  of  the  future.  We  can  conceive  of  no  time  in  the 
past  when  the  material  which  constitutes  the  earth  did  not  exist,  in 
some  form ;  and  we  can  conceive  of  no  period  in  the  future  when  it 
will  not  exist.  Human  ingenuity  has  never  been  able  to  devise  the 
means  whereby  the  .smallest  particle  of  matter  can  be  annihilated. 
The  chemist  may  resolve  a  grain  of  sand  into  its  original  elements, 
but  it  still  exists  in  another  form,  and  its  elements  constitute  a  part 
of  the  universe  just  as  much,  after  it  has  been  subjected  to  his 
manipulations,  as  before.  A  mineral,  when  subjected  to  intense 
heat,  may  often  be  resolved  into  a  gaseous  or  a  liquid  form,  but  no 
part  of  it  is  destroyed  by  the  process ;  its  condition  only  has  been 
changed. 

The  organic  being,  whether  animal  or  vegetable,  may  die,  and  the 
constituent  materials  of  which  it  was  composed  be  returned  to 
the  earth  and  the  atmosphere  from  which  they  were  derived;  but 
no  portion  is  lost  or  destroyed  in  the  process.  So,  throughout  the 
entire  realm  of  nature,  the  great  law  of  change  is  unceasingly  at 
work,  and  through  its  operations  the  grandest  developments  of  the 
material  universe  are  accomplished ;  but  nowhere  does  this  law  of 
change  necessarily  involve  the  destruction  of  the  smallest  particle  of 
matter,  and  no  natural  law  has  yet  been  discovered  by  which  such 
a  result  can  be  accomplished.  Hence,  to  our  finite  conceptions,  the 
matter  which  constitutes  the  material  universe  is  eternal,  and  can 
no  more  be  annihilated  than  that  Infinite  Spirit  which  pervades  all 
things,  and  which  we  recognize  as  God. 


10  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Natural  forces  are  manifested  by  motion,  and  various  effects  pro- 
duced— such,  for  instance,  as  the  attraction  between  particles  of 
matter  in  solution,  by  which  they  are  caused  to  assume  a  definite 
form  of  crystalization.  Perhaps  the  thought  may  be  a  new  and 
startling  one,  to  the  reader,  that  the  forces  which  give  form  to  the 
crystal  are  living  forces,  and  that,  in  this  sense,  life  really  pervades 
all  matter.  Hence  we  see  that  every  mineral  invariably  assumes 
its  own  peculiar  form  of  crystalization,  and  that,  too,  with  unerring 
certainty.  The  formation  of  the  crystal  may  be  regarded  as  the 
first  effort  of  nature  towards  organic  creation — the  first  result  of  a 
great  law  that  has  culminated  in  the  creation  of  all  the  higher 
forms  of  organized  beings. 

The  time  that  has  elapsed  since  the  creation  of  the  present  races 
of  beings  is  very  much  greater  than  the  popular  mind  has  been 
prepared  to  admit ;  and  recent  investigations  have  brought  to  light 
certain  facts  bearing  upon  the  question,  which  it  may  be  well  to 
notice  here.  Prof.  AGASSIZ,  in  his  admirable  paper  on  the  growth 
and  formation  of  the  coral  reefs  of  Florida,  clearly  establishes  the 
fact  that  the  living  species  of  corals,  which  have  built  these  immense 
reefs,  have  been  at  work  on  that  coast  for  more  than  70,000  years ; 
and  Capt.  E.  B.  HUNT,  of  the  U.  8.  Corps  of  ,Engineers,  who  was 
stationed,  for  many  years,  at  Key  West,  in  Florida,  and  whose 
opportunities  for  observation  were  uncommonly  favorable  in  relation 
to  facts  bearing  upon  this  point,  expresses  the  opinion,  in  a  com- 
munication published  in  Silliman's  Journal,  for  March,  1863,  that 
the  existing  species  of  corals  which  have  built  the  limestone  forma- 
tions of  the  Florida  coast,  have  been  at  work  on  that  coast  for  at 
least  5,400,000  years.  This  estimate,  enormous  as  it  may  seem  to 
us,  is  predicated  upon  well  demonstrated  facts  in  relation  to  the 
rate  of  growth  of  these  coralline  structures,  derived  from  observa. 
tions  and  measurements  made  upon  the  spot. 

Again,  it  is  well  known  to  all  those  who  have  kept  pace  with  the 
advancement  of  science,  in  this  direction,  for  the  past  few  years, 
that  facts  have  been  constantly  accumulating  going  to  show  that 
Man  has  been  an  inhabitant  of  the  earth  for  a  much  longer  period 
than  has  usually  been  admitted;  and  finally,  Sir  CHARLES  LYELL, 
who,  heretofore,  had  been  eminently  conservative  on  this  question, 
frankly  admits,  in  his  last  work,  on  the  "Antiquity  of  Man,"  pub- 
lished in  1868,  that  the  evidence  accumulated  on  this  point  is  quite 
sufficient  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  the  human  race  have  inhab- 
ited  this  continent  for  more  than  100,000  years. 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  11 

These  estimates,  taken  as  a  moiety  of  the  time  allotted  to  the 
existing  races  of  animals  and  plants,  and  multiplied  by  the  number 
of  extinct  cre'ations  which  have  preceded  the  present  in  the  vast 
geological  periods  of  the  past,  will  give  us  at  least  some  faint  con- 
ception of  the  immense  periods  of  time  that  have  elapsed  since 
the  first  appearance  of  life  upon  the  earth. 

The  earliest  formed  rocks  having  resulted  from  the  cooling  of 
mineral  matter  existing  in  a  state  of  fusion,  are  termed  primary 
igneous  rocks.  They  occur,  without  regularity  of  form,  as  amorphous 
masses ;  but  they  have  been  so  deeply  covered  by  the  sedimentary 
accumulations  of  later  times,  that  they  are  only  to  be  seen,  now,  in 
those  localities  where  they  have  been  protruded  up  through  the 
more  recently  formed  strata  by  igneous  forces,  acting  from  beneath ; 
and,  consequently,  they  constitute,  in  most  countries,  only  a  very 
small  proportion  of  the  rock  formations  now  accessible  to  human 
observation. 

When  the  surface  of  the  earth  had  become  sufficiently  cooled,  the 
aqueous  vapors  of  the  atmosphere  were  condensed  into  water,,  and 
the  oceans  and  streams  were  formed.  The  waters,  by  their  solvent 
and  eroding  influence,  aided  by  other  atmospheric  agencies,  acted 
upon  the  hardened  rocks,  wearing  them  away ;  and  the  disintegrated 
material,  being  carried  by  the  streams  to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean, 
were  there  deposited  to  form  the  stratified  rocks.  These  two  causes — 
the  igneous  and  the  aqueous— together  with  the  modifying  influence 
of  living  creatures,  have  given  origin  to  all  the  rocky  masses  at 
present  known  upon  the  earth's  surface. 

The  rocks  formed  by  sedimentary  accumulations  beneath  the  water 
are  usually  termed  stratified  rocks,  because  they  are  generally  found 
in  regular  beds  or  layers,  as  our  limestones,  slates,  sandstones,  etc. 
Sometimes  the  sedimentary  rocks  are  subjected  to  the  action  of 
heat,  water,  and  other  agencies,  by  which  their  original  condition  is 
changed,  and  they  are  then  termed  metamorphic  rocks.  The  effect 
of  metamorphic  action  upon  the  stratified  rocks  is  to  obliterate,  either 
wholly  or  in  part,  the  original  lines  of  stratification,  and  to  give 
them  a  more  or  less  highly  crystalline  structure.  Thus  sandstone 
is  converted  into  a  quartz  rock  or  quartzite,  limestone  into  crystal- 
line marble,  etc.  Many  of  the  rocks  in  this  country  that  a  few 
years  ago  were  supposed  to  be  of  igneous  origin,  are  now  known  to 
be  altered  sedimentary  strata,  for  in  some  cases  they  still  retain 
distinct  traces  of  the  original  line  of  stratification ;  and  where  these 
are  quite  obliterated,  it  is  by  no  means  safe  to  conclude  that  the 
rock  is  of  igneous  origin,  for  sometimes  these  beds  of  apparently 


12  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

unstratified  rocks  may  be  traced  continuously  into  beds  where,  the 
metamorphic  action  having  been  less  intense,  the  lines  of  stratifica- 
tion are  still  preserved. 

Metamorphism  usually  obliterates  all  traces  of  the  fossils  that  may 
have  been  originally  embedded  in  the  altered  strata,  and  hence  it  is 
often  difficult  to  determine  the  relative  age  of  the  metamorphic 
rocks,  when  they  are  not  found  in  connection  with  fossiliferous 
beds.  But  it  is  by  no  means  safe  to  infer,  because  a  rock  contains 
no  trace  of  fossils,  at  the  present  time,  that,  therefore,  it  was  formed 
before  the  existence  of  organic  beings,  or  that  it  has  not,  at  one 
time,  contained  their  fossilized  remains. 

Thus  we  have  three  distinct  classes  of  rocks  which  enter  into  the 
formation  of  the  earth's  crust — the  igneous,  formed  by  the  cooling 
of  melted  mineral  matter ;  the  aqueous  or  sedimentary  accumulations 
beneath  the  ocean ;  and  the  metamorphic,  resulting  from  the  conjoint 
action  of  igneous  and  aqueous  agencies.  But  it  seems  that  met- 
amorphism  is  sometimes  produced  by  other  causes  than  direct 
contact  with  igneous  conditions,  for  we  frequently  find  that  beds  of 
metamorphic  rock  are  underlaid  by  sedimentary  strata  that  have 
not  been  affected  by  metamorphic  action — showing  that  the  altered 
condition  of  the  strata  has  resulted  from  some  other  cause  than  dry 
heat  alone.  It  has  been  suggested  that  hot  water,  charged  with 
alkaline,  or,  in  certain  cases,  acid  solutions,  would  be  fully  adequate 
to  produce  metamorphism  under  favorable  conditions ;  and  through 
the  action  of  these  agents  permeating  the  porous  strata  without  pen- 
etrating those  more  compact,  we  may  understand  how  a  superin- 
cumbent rock  may  become  metamorphosed,  while  that  below  it  still 
remains  unchanged. 

There  are  few  points  in  the  State  of  Illinois  where  any  indications 
of  metamorphic  action  have  been  observed,  and  these  are  confined  to 
a  very  limited  thickness  of  strata  and  to  a  few  localities  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State,  in  the  vicinity  of  some  of  the  principal 
axes  of  disturbance.  In  Saline  and  Gallatin  counties,  according  to 
the  observations  of  Mr.  PRATTEN,  heavy  beds  of  altered  shales  and 
quartzites,  sixty  or  seventy  feet  in  thickness,  are  underlaid  by 
limestones  and  sandstones  that  are  unaffected  by  metamorphic  action. 
In  the  hills,  a  mile  and  a  half  back  of  Santa  Fe,  in  Alexander 
county,  there  is  an  outcrop  of  very  hard  quartzite  that,  from  its 
position,  seems  to  be  of  Tertiary  age. 

From  the  manner  in  which  sedimentary  strata  are  formed,  it 
must  appear  evident  to  the  observer  that  the  successive  beds 
accumulating  in  regular  order,  one  above  another,  must  necessarily 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  13 

represent  distinct  periods  in  the  chronological  history  of  the  earth ; 
and  this  history  becomes  doubly  interesting  from  the  preservation, 
in  the  rocky  strata,  of  the  fossilized  remains  of  the  animals  and 
plants  that  nourished  during  the  vast  period  of  time  consumed  in 
their  formation.  Thus  the  geological  chronology  of  the  earth  is  not 
only  a  correct  history  of  the  formation  of  the  various  strata  that 
constitute  its  crust,  but  it  is,  also,  the  only  possible  history  (that  is 
accessible  to  us)  of  the  various  creations  of  animals  and  plants 
that,  through  the  successive  periods  of  the  past,  have  inhabited  its 
surface. 

The  ancient  oceans,  like  those  of  the  present  day,  were  filled 
with  organized  beings,  and  the  shell  of  the  mollusk  and  the  hard, 
calcareous  habitation  secreted  by  the  coral,  become  embedded  in 
the  constantly  accumulating  sediment  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean; 
and  when  this  sediment  was  hardened  into  rock,  these  organic 
remains  were  preserved,  in  a  fossilized  condition,  so  perfect  and 
entire  that  the  general  character  and  habits  of  these  ancient 
animals  may  be  studied  and  determined  in  a  most  satisfactory 
manner.  These  fossils,  though  belonging  to  species  that  are  now 
extinct,  and,  in  many  cases,  to  genera  that  are  no  longer  repre- 
sented among  living  species,  are  nevertheless  referable  to  the  four 
great  sub-kingdoms  of  existing  animals,  and  many  of  them  to  the 
same  families,  and  sometimes  the  same  genera,  with  existing  species. 
This  shows  a  general  plan  in  the  creation  of  all  organic  beings  upon 
the  earth,  which  includes  the  various  creations  of  all  past  time, 
from  the  earliest  corals  of  the  primeval  ocean  down  through  all 
succeeding  periods  to  the  present  time. 

Some  of  the  stratified  rocks,  especially  the  limestones,  are  com- 
posed almost  entirely  of  the  calcareous  habitations  and  bony 
skeletons  of  the  marine  animals  that  lived  in  the  ocean  during  the 
time  these  beds  were  in  process  of  formation,  with  barely  enough 
mineral  matter  to  hold  the  organic  materials  together  in  a  cemented 
mass.  Thus  we  find  that  these  simple  types  of  life  have  played  an 
important  part  in  the  formation  of  the  solid  framework  of  the 
globe.  The  same  process  is  now  constantly  being  repeated,  and 
year  after  year  the  shell-fish  and  the  coral  contribute  their  calcare- 
ous portions  to  swell  the  amount  of  sediment  that  is  constantly 
accumulating  beneath  the  bed  of  the  ocean,  and  this  will  eventually 
become  hardened  into  solid  rock  strata.  These  fossils  are  the  true 
"Medals  of  Creation,"  and  in  this  way  nature  preserves  her  own 
records  of  succeeding  creations,  linking  them  all  together  by  the 
unerring  characteristics  of  a  common  origin,  and  weaving  them  into 


14  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

one  complete  chain  of  organic  existence,  which,  beginning  with  the 
lowest  and  simplest  form — Protozoa — culminates  in  the  final  appear- 
ance of  Man  upon  the  earth,  as  the  highest  and  complete  result  of 
creative  energy.  Nature's  laws  are  eternal  and  unchangeable, 
always  producing  like  effects  from  like  causes. 

Where  sediments  are  accumulated  in  mid-ocean,  far  from  land, 
and  where  there  are  no  currents  to  bring  the  remains  of  land  animals 
and  plants  from  a  distant  shore,  the  strata  which  are  formed  will 
contain  only  marine  fossils ;  but  if  they  accumulate  near  the  shore, 
the  streams  from  the  adjacent  land  will  bring  on  their  swollen  and 
turbid  waters  terrestrial  plants  and  animals,  which  being  intermingled 
with  the  marine  remains,  will  be  embedded  in  the  same  strata. 

Again,  sediments  accumulate  in  lakes  and  other  large  bodies  of 
fresh  water,  and  these,  when  hardened  into  rock,  may  easily  be  dis- 
tinguished by  the  fresh  water  and  land  animals  which  they  contain ; 
and  sometimes  strata  may  be  found  which  contain  the  remains  of  only 
such  animals  as  inhabit  brackish  waters,  and  these  have  undoubtedly 
been  formed  from  sediments  accumulated  in  bays  or  estuaries,  as 
they  alone  present  the  necessary  conditions  for  the  growth  of  these 
peculiar  forms  of  life.  Thus  we  find  that,  in  the  different  strata  of 
the  earth's  crust,  a  magic  key  may  be  obtained  which,  if  rightly 
applied,  will  open  wide  the  door  to  nature's  most  wonderful  and 
secret  works,  and  enable  us  to  read,  as  in  an  open  book,  a  history, 
more  or  less  complete,  of  the  varied  and  striking  changes  in  the  past 
history  of  the  globe  and  its  varied  forms  of  life. 

Many  beds  of  stratified  rocks  are  formed  by  the  breaking  up  and 
redepositing  of  the  material  derived  from  pre-existing  rocks,  as  the 
sandstones,  conglomerates,  breccias,  etc.  As  the  dashing  waves  upon 
the  rock-bound  coasts  of  our  continents  and  islands,  at  the  present 
day,  wear  away  portions  of  the  solid  rocks,  the  material  is  by  cur- 
rents carried  but  into  the  ocean's  depths,  and  redeposited,  to  become, 
by  and  by,  hardened  into  rock.  So,  through  the  countless  ages  of 
the  past,  the  same  laws  of  destruction  and  re-formation  have  been 
in  constant  operation,  and,  through  them,  important  modifications  of 
the  earth's  structure  have  been  effected,  and  marked  changes  have 
been  wrought  in  the  physical  conditions  of  its  surface. 

From  the  published  results  of  the  Canada  survey,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Sir  WILLIAM  LOGAN,  it  becomes  necessary  to  modify,  some- 
what, the  views  hitherto  held  by  American  geologists  in  relation  to 
the  character  of  the  oldest  rocks  at  present  known  on  this  continent. 
Hitherto  these  rocks  have  been  classed  by  themselves,  under  the 
general  term  of  "Azoic,"  which  term  simply  signifies  without  life,  on 


GENEKAL   PRINCIPLES.  15 

the  supposition  that  they  were  formed  anterior  to  the  existence  of 
organic  life  upon  the  earth.  It  had  very  generally  been  admitted  that 
the  lower  Silurian  formation,  which  overlies  unconformably  these  so- 
called  Azoic  rocks,  contained  the  remains  of  the  earliest  forms  of 
animal  life ;  and,  although  that  apparent  beginning  of  organic  forms 
did  not  correspond  to  the  recognized  laws  of  development  observed 
in  all  succeeding  strata,  yet  geologists  seemed  disposed  to  accept  the 
apparent  facts,  rather  than  to  indulge  in  such  speculations  as  the 
collateral  evidence  seemed  to  warrant.  But  the  discoveries  in  Canada 
have  apparently  lifted  the  veil  from  the  primeval  creation  of  animal 
life,  and  revealed  to  us  its  apparent  earliest  dawn,  under  conditions 
entirely  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  progressive  development. 

These  so-called  Azoic  rocks  in  Canada  are  found  divisible  into  two 
distinct  systems,  called  the  Huronian  and  Laurentian  systems,  by 
the  Canadian  geologists,  with  an  aggregate  thickness  of'  more  than 
30,000  feet.  The  Huronian,  which  is  the  upper  or  newer  of  the  two 
systems,  has  not  as  yet  afforded  any  fossils ;  but  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  Laurentian  system,  Sir  WILLIAM  LOGAN  discovered  what  appeared 
to  be  fossil  corals,  though  from  the  highly  metamorphic  -character  of 
the  strata  in  which  they  were  embedded,  their  true  character  was 
not  at  first  generally  recognized.  But  on  submitting  them  to  Prof. 
DAWSON,  who  subjected  them  to  a  critical  structural  examination 
under  the  microscope,  they  were  found  to  be,  beyond  doubt,  of  animal 
origin,  and  the  name  Eozoon  Canadense  was  given  to  this  remarkable 
fossil.  It  was  found  to  belong  to  the  very  humblest  type  of  animal 
existence  known — that  of  the  Ehizopods — standing,  as  it  were,  nearly 
upon  the  dividing  line  between  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms, 
and  consequently  may  be  accepted  as  among  the  earliest  of  created 
beings.  This  may  very  properly  be  considered  one  of  the  most 
important  and  interesting  discoveries  in  paleontology  that  has  been 
made  in  the  last  decade  of  years.  It  carries  the  dawn  of  life  back- 
ward through  an  area  represented  by  more  than  30,000  feet  of  strata, 
and  shows  us  its  commencement  with  one  of  the  lowest  forms  of1  the 
animal  kingdom. 

That  there  was  a  true  Azoic  age  in  the  earth's  history  no  one  can 
doubt,  but  it  would  seem  highly  probable  that  all  the  sedimentary 
rocks  of  this  age  are  either  now  so  deeply  covered  by  the  superin- 
cumbent strata  of  more  recent  date,  that  they  are  not  accessible  to 
human  observation,  or  from  metamorphic  action,  they  are  now 
undistinguishable  from  igneous  material.  The  true  igneous  rocks  are 
frequently  met  with  upon  the  earth's  surface,  but  they  generally 
occur  in  the  form  of  dikes,  filling  rents  or  fissures  in  the  stratified 


16  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

rocks,  showing  that  they  are  of  more  recent  origin  than  the  beds 
which  they  penetrate.  When  we  ascend  above  the  highly  metamor- 
phic  strata,  we  find  each  geological  system  characterized  by  a  distinct 
creation  of  animal  life  sp  entirely  unique  and  unlike  all  preceding  or 
subsequent  creations,  that  it  is  rare  to  find  more  than  a  single 
species  out  of  hundreds  peculiar  to  each  geological  system,  that  pass 
from  one  into  another.  So  complete,  generally,  is  this  change"  in 
organic  life,  in  passing  from  one  formation  to  another,  that  the 
practical  geologist  is  enabled  to  determine  at  a  glance,  in  most  cases, 
where  fossils  abound  in  a  strata,  the  exact  position  which  a  forma- 
tion may  hold  in  the  geological  series,  even  when  the  exposure  is 
an  isolated  one,  and  no  other  rock  is  found  near  by  to  aid  him  in 
the  determination. 

Hence,  the  reader  may  understand  why  fossils  are  so  eagerly  sought 
after  by  those  engaged  in  geological  investigations — not  as  matters 
of  mere  curiosity,  but  because  they  furnish  the  most  reliable  evi- 
dence that  can  be  obtained  for  determining  the  horizon  to  which  the 
rocks  belong.  Here  we  have  a  striking  example  of  the  intimate  rela- 
tion which  .exists  between  the  several  departments  of  natural  science, 
zoology  coming  to  the  aid  and  illustration  of  geology,  the  organic 
aiding  in  the  study  and  illustration  of  the  inorganic  kingdoms  of 
nature. 

The  stratified  rocks,  including  the  metamorphic,  heretofore  regarded 
as  Azoic,  constitute  ten  distinct  geological  systems,  all  of  which, 
except  the  two  lower,  are  easily  recognized  wherever  they  appear 
by  the  fossil  remains  which  they  contain.  The  Huronian  and  Lau- 
rentian  systems  are  composed  of  beds  so  highly  metamorphic  that 
nearly  all  traces  of  the  fossils  originally  embedded  in  them  have  been 
obliterated,  and  their  true  position  was  first  determined  by  finding 
them  actually  underlying  the  Silurian  strata. 

The  following  section  represents  the  relative  position  of  the  various 
geological  systems  recognized  at  the  present  time,  and  also  the  equiv- 
alent systems  represented  in  Illinois : 


GENERAL    PRINCIPLES. 


17 


Section  of  the   Geological   systems   at 
present  known. 

Section  of  the  Geological  systems  recog- 
nized in  Illinois. 

QUATERNARY. 

QUATERNARY. 

TERTIARY. 

TERTIARY.  ? 

CRETACEOUS. 

•    JURASSIC. 

TRIASSIC. 

CARBONIFEROUS. 

CARBONIFEROUS. 

DEVONIAN. 

DEVONIAN, 

SILURIAN. 

SILURIAN. 

HURONIAN. 

LAURENTIAN. 

By  an  examination  of  the  foregoing  section,  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  Cretaceous,  Jurassic  and  Triassic  systems  have  no  representatives 
in  Illinois ;  and  as  the  systems  above  and  below  are  already  recog- 
nized, it  seems  probable  that  these  systems  have  never  been  depos- 
ited within  the  limits  of  the  State,  its  entire  area  being  probably 
above  the  ocean  level  during  these  epochs.  As  all  stratified  rocks 
are  formed  beneath  the  ocean,  or  some  other  large  body  of  water, 
their  absence  in  any  locality  may  be  accounted  for  on  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  surface  was  elevated  above  the  water  level,  and 
remained  dry  land  during  the  entire  period  while  the  missing  strata 
were  being  deposited  over  those  portions  of  the  earth's  surface  that 
were  submerged.  Again,  their  absence  might  be  accounted  for  by 
supposing  that  the  strata,  having  been  originally  deposited  here, 
were  afterwards  swept  away  by  denuding  agencies ;  but  in  that  case 
it  seems  hardly  probable  that  their  destruction  would  have  been  so  com- 
plete as  to  obliterate  all  trace  of  their  former  existence. 

The  Huronian  and  Laurentian  systems  are  not  represented  in  Illi- 
nois, not  because  they  were  never  deposited  here,  as  they  probably 
underlie  the  entire  area  of  the  State — but  because  there  has  been 
no  disturbing  force  in  operation,  within  the  limit  of  the  State,  suffi- 
ciently powerful  to  elevate  them  to  the  surface,  and  hence  they  are 
concealed  by  the  overlying  strata.  Even  in  those  portions  of  the 
—2 


18  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

State  where  the  disturbing  influences  have  been  most  powerful,  there 
is  from  four  to  six  hundred  feet  of  Silurian  strata  below  the  surface 
that  overlie  the  systems  above  named. 

Some  of  the  richest  deposits  of  metallic  wealth  yet  discovered  on 
this  continent  are  in  the  Huronian  system — as,  the  iron  ores  of  Mar- 
quette,  and  the  deposits  of  native  copper  and  silver  on  the  south 
shore  of  Lake  Superior;  and  it  seems  probable  that  the  "Iron 
Mountains"  of  Missouri  are  of  the  same  age. 

Metallic  ores  occur  either  in  beds,  which  are  spread  horizontally 
under  the  surface — as  a  bed  of  coal  or  of  iron  ore— or  in  veins. 
Veins  are  fissures  in  the  rock  strata  which  are  afterwards  filled  with 
crystallized  mineral  matter.  They  usually  traverse  the  strata  in  a 
direction  more  or  less  nearly  perpendicular  to  the  lines  of  bedding, 
and  may  result  from  the  shrinking  of  the  beds,  or  from  any  disturb- 
ing cause  of  sufficient  power  to  dislocate  the  strata.  They  are  usually 
partly  filled  with  crystallized  minerals,  as  calc  spar,  fluor  spar, 
quartz,  etc.,  which  form  a  matrix  for  the  metallic  ores  which  they 
contain ;  and  the  material  with  which  they  have  been  filled  has  been, 
in  most  cases,  introduced  into  them  by  infiltration  either  from  above 
or  from  the  surrounding  strata. 

Where  the  fissures  result  from  the  shrinking  of  the  strata,  they 
do  not  usually  extend  below  the  set  of  strata  in  which  they  origin- 
ate, and  are  termed  gash  veins ;  whereas,  if  they  result  from  the 
dislocation  of  the  strata  by  forces  acting  from  beneath,  they  must 
extend  downward  indefinitely. 

It  was  formerly  believed,  by  geologists  generally,  that  nearly  all 
metallic  veins  were  of  igneous  origin,  and  that  the  crystallized  min- 
erals and  ores  with  which  they  were  filled  were  derived  from  igneous 
conditions ;  but  this  opinion  is  now  held  to  be  erroneous,  and  it  is 
very  generally  conceded  that  aqueous  causes  are  entirely  adequate 
to  account  for  their  occurrence.  That  the  native  metals — as  gold, 
silver  and  copper — owe  their  occurrence,  in  that  form,  to  metamor- 
phic  agencies,  is  no  doubt  true ;  but  most  of  the  ores  at  present 
known  appear  to  have  resulted  from  aqueous  conditions. 

Dikes  are  wide  fissures  in  the  stratified  beds  which  have  been 
filled  with  igneous  rocks,  such  as  basalt,  porphyry,  trap,  etc., 
which  have  been  protruded  upward  from  beneath  while  in  a  molten 
condition.  These  are  sometimes  several  miles  in  width,  and  the 
igneous  rocks  which  have  been  protruded  through  similar  openings, 
now  often  form  mountain  chains.  Dikes  differ  from  veins  in  this, 
that  they  are  entirely  filled  with  the  same  kind  of  material  which  is 


SUKFACE    GEOLOGY.  19 

of  volcanic  origin,  while  veins  are  filled  oftentimes  with  several  dis- 
tinct crystallized  minerals,  resulting  from  aqueous  solutions. 

SURFACE    GEOLOGY. 

Under  this  general  head  we  design  to  treat  of  the  present  surface 
conditions  and  phenomena,  as  they  appear  in  this  State,  and  to 
describe  the  accumulations  of  clay,  sand  and  gravel  which  overlie 
the  stratified  rocks,  and  are  known  under  the  general  name  of  drift, 
including  also  the  more  recent  deposits  resulting  from  lacustrine 
conditions,  as  the  loess  and  other  alluvial  deposits— the  whole  com- 
prising what  is  known  as  the  Quaternary  system.. 

The  beds  of  superficial  material  are  spread  unconformably  upon 
the  older  rocks,  and  cover  them  to  the  depth  of  from  ten  to  more 
than  two  hundred  feet.  The  drift,  proper,  may  generally  be  divided 
into,  first,  blue  plastic  clay  with  small  pebbles,  often  containing 
fragments  of  wood  and  sometimes  the  trunks  of  trees  of  considerable 
size,  which  forms  the  lower  division  of  the  mass ;  second,  buff  and 
yellow  clays  and  gravel  and  irregular  beds  of  sand,  with  boulders 
of  water- worn  rock  of  various  sizes  interspersed  through  the  whole ; 
and,  lastly,  reddish-brown  clays,  generally  free  from  boulders,  and 
forming  the  subsoil  in  those  portions  of  the  State  remote  from  the 
streams,  and  where  the  loess  is  wanting. 

No  general  description  of  the  mass  would  be  applicable  to  all 
portions  of  the  State,  inasmuch  as  it  varies  considerably  in  different 
localities,  At  some  points  in  Northern  Illinois  it  consists  entirely 
of  a  bed  of  clean  gravel  resting  directly  upon  the  Silurian  lime- 
stone, and  overlaid  by  the  black  subsoil  of  the  prairie.  At  others 
the  gravel  bed  is  underlaid  by  the  blue  plastic  clay  before  mentioned 
which  usually  forms  the  base  of  the  Quaternary  system.  In  some 
of  the  counties  on  the  eastern  borders  of  the  State  the  blue  clay  has 
been  penetrated  to  the  depth  of  eighty  feet,  or  more,  without  reach- 
ing the  bottom,  and  it  seems  probable  that  its  maximum  thickness 
is  fully  one  hundred  feet.  It  is  generally  impervious  to  water;  and 
in  some  portions  of  the  State,  where  it  comes  near  the  surface, 
considerable  difficulty  is  experienced  in  obtaining  good  wells. 

Along  the  western  borders  of  the  State  it  generally  consists  of  a 
bed  of  blue  clay,  or  hard  pan,  at  the  bottom,  which  is  overlaid  by 
brown  clays  with  gravel  and  boulders.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  river 
bluffs  it  appears  to  have  been  partially  modified  by  the  action  of 
lacustrine  forces.  A  section  of  the  bluffs  on  Main  street  in  Warsaw, 
Hancock  county,  gives  the  following  section: 


20  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Ash-colored  marly  clay  resembling  loess 10  feet. 

Brown  drift  clay 12 

Brown  sands,  partly  stratified 8 

Bluish-colored  sandy  clay 2         6  inches. 

Clay  and  fine  gravel 2         6      " 

Yellow  sand,  stratified 2 

Clean  gravel  and  boulders 8 

Blue  clay,  or  hard  pan 6 

In  the  bluffs  at  Quincy  the  true  drift  deposits  are  entirely  want- 
ing, and  are  replaced  with  a  heavy  bed  of  loess  from  thirty  to 
forty  feet  in  thickness,  underlaid  by  a  few  feet  of  local  drift, 
consisting  of  fragments  of  chert  intermingled  with  brown  clay, 
derived,  evidently,  from  ihe  cherty  limestones  upon  which  it  rests. 
Everywhere  along  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois  rivers,  where  the 
lacustrine  conditions  prevailed  at  a  period  subsequent  to  the  drift, 
we  find  the  latter  deposit  more  or  less  modified,  and  in  some  cases 
entirely  removed  by  the  action  of  the  currents.  To  these  conditions 
the  deposit  of  the  loess  is  probably  due,  and  it  is  found  along  all  our 
principal  river  bluffs  and  valleys  throughout  the  State.  It  consists 
of  beds  of  imperfectly  stratified  marly  sand  and  clay,  containing  at 
some  localities  great  numbers  of  land  and  fresh  water  shells. 

The  term  "Loess"  was  originally  applied,  by  European  geologists, 
to  certain  deposits  of  comparatively  recent  age,  and  of  fresh  water 
origin,  consisting  of  partially  stratified  marly  sands  and  clays,  con- 
taining the  remains  of  fresh  water  and  land  shells  of  the  same 
species  with  those  now  found  living  in  the  adjacent  region,  indi- 
cating its  sedimentary  accumulation  in  fresh  water  lakes  at  a 
comparatively  recent  period,  or  since  the  creation  of  the  existing 
species  of  molluscus  animals. 

On  this  continent  similar  beds  are  found  holding  the  same  strati- 
graphical  position,  and  American  geologists  have  generally  accepted 
the  synchronism  of  the  American  with  the  European  deposits,  and 
adopted  the  same  name.  In  this  country  the  deposit  is  mainly 
restricted  to  the  vicinity  of  our  great  river  valleys,  which,  no  doubt, 
were  occupied  by  lakes  during  the  period  in  which  the  loess  was 
deposited,  and  were  subsequently  drained  by  the  gradual  elevation 
of  the  surface.  Its  thickness  is  very  variable,  averaging  from 
twenty  to  sixty  feet,  in  the  river  bluffs,  and  thinning  out  rapidly  as 
we  recede  from  the  river  towards  the  summit  level  of  the  interior. 

"Where  this  deposit  is  well  developed,  the  bluffs  usually  present  a 
series  of  bald  knobs,  forming  a  marked  feature  in  the  topography  of 
the  country.  A  series  of  chemical  analyses  have  shown  the  deposit 
to  consist  of  from  sixty  to  seventy  per  cent,  of  sand  and  clay,  with 
about  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia, 


SUKFACE    GEOLOGY.  21 

and  about  five  per  cent,  of  oxide  of  iron.  Its  chemical  constituents, 
however,  must  necessarily  vary  in  different  localities,  and  even  from 
different  parts  of  the  bed  at  the  same  locality,  because  it  is  not 
a  completely  homogeneous  mass,  but  varies  somewhat  in  its  constit- 
uent elements  in  different  portions  of  the  deposit. 

Kesulting  from  the  same  cause,  but  formed  at  a  later  period,  are 
the  raised  beaches  or  terraces  of  modified  drift,  common  on  the 
borders  of  the  lakes  and  large  rivers  throughout  the  State.  They 
are  elevated  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet  above  the  water  level,  at  the 
present  time,  and  show  that  the  water  line  remained  at  that  eleva- 
tion for  a  long  time  after  the  lacustrine  conditions  under  which  the 
loess  was  formed  had  passed  away. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  material  composing  the  drift  deposits 
have  been  derived  from  regions  far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State, 
and  consists  of  rounded  and  water-worn  masses  of  granite  sienite, 
porphyry,  amygdaloid,  etc.,  together  with  the  red  sandstone  and 
native  copper  of  the  Lake  Superior  region,  all  of  which  have  been 
swept  southward  from  their  native  beds  with  a  force  sufficient  to 
obliterate  the  angles  from  the  hardest  fragments ;  and  these  have 
been  intermingled  with  the  detritus  of  the  Iftter  formations  over 
which  they  have  been  transported. 

It  undoubtedly  owes  its  origin  to  the  combined  action  of  ice  and 
water,  and  the  material  of  which  it  is  composed  has  been  trans- 
ported by  these  agencies,  while  the  whole  area  over  which  it  is  now 
spread  was  submerged  beneath  the  waters  of  a  vast  sea,  covering 
almost  the  entire  area  of  the  Mississippi  valley  north  of  the  Ohio. 
Its  southern  boundary  in  this  State  appears  to  be  the  mountain 
chain,  already  mentioned,  which  crosses  the  southern  portion  of  the 
State  from  Grand  Tower,  on  the  Mississippi,  to  Shawneetown,  on 
the  Ohio. 

The  scratched  and  grooved  surfaces  presented  by  the  underlying 
limestones,  at  many  localities,  and  the  smoothly  worn  and  polished 
jsurfaces  that  may  be  seen  at  others,  and  the  immense  size  and 
weight  of  many  of  the  transported  boulders,  which  have  been  carried 
for  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  nearest  outcrop  of  the  metamorphic 
beds  to  which  they  belong,  alike  preclude  the  idea  that  such  results 
have  been  produced  by  the  action  of  water  alone.  Huge  masses  of 
moving  ice,  like  the  icebergs  of  the  present  day,  loaded  with  the 
mineral  detritus  of  the  far  northern  lands,  with  angular  fragments 
of  hard,  metamorphic  rock  firmly  embedded  in  the  solid  ice  to  act 
as  a  graver  upon  whatever  rock  surface  they  might  come  in  contact, 
are  the  only  known  agencies  that  seem  adequate  to  the  production 


22  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

of  the  phenomena  characteristic  of  the  drift  deposits  in  the  Missis- 
sippi valley. 

In-  addition  to  the  area  in  the  extreme  southern  portion  of  the 
State  over  which  the  drift  deposits  do  not  extend,  there  is  also  a 
limited  extent  of  surface  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  State 
that  seems,  also,  to  be  almost  entirely  free  from  these  accumula- 
tions ;  and  as  it  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  territory  that  is 
covered  with  heavy  deposits  of  this  material,  it  forms  an  anomalous 
feature  in  the  surface  geology  of  that  region. 

This  driftless  region  in  the  northwest  also  comprises  a  limited  area 
in  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  and  was  first  noticed  by  Dr.  J.  G.  PERCIVAL, 
during  his  labors  in  the  geological  survey  of  Wisconsin,  and  more 
recently  by  Prof.  J.  D.  WHITNEY,  in  his  able  report  on  the  geological 
survey  of  that  State,  and,  according  to  the  last  named  author,  its 
extent  is  almost  exactly  coincident  with  the  productive  lead  region  of 
the  northwest. 

The  views  of  these  distinguished  geologists,  in  relation  to  the 
causes  which  have  produced  this  anomalous  feature  in  the  surface 
geology  of  this  region,  seem  to  be  quite  at  variance  with  each  other, 
and  we  will  here  state,  in  a  brief  manner,  the  views  advanced  by 
each  with  the  main  arguments  and  facts  by  which  they  are 
sustained,  adding  thereto  such  remarks  as  our  own  observation  in 
the  lead  region  of  Illinois  enable  us  to  make. 

Immediately  south  of  the  Wisconsin  river  there  is  an  elevated 
plateau,  having  a  nearly  east  and  west  trend,  and  extending  for  a 
distance  of  at  least  fifty  miles  to  the  eastward  from  the  mouth  of 
that  river,  and  forming  a  water  shed  which  separates  the  streams 
running  south  into  the  Mississippi,  from  those  emptying  into  the 
Wisconsin.  This  plateau  culminates  in  the  peaks  known  as  the 
Blue  Mounds,  which  are  elevated  about  eleven  hundred  feet  above 
the  waters  of  the  Wisconsin,  and  constitute  the  most  elevated  points 
to  be  found  in  this  region. 

Dr.  PERCIVAL  supposed  that  this  elevated  plateau  might  have 
formed  a  reef,  during  the  drift  period,  against  which  the  icebergs 
impinged  as  they  floated  southward  loaded  with  detritus,  and  by 
which  they  were  diverted  from  their  direct  southward  course  into 
the  valleys  of  the  Wisconsin  and  Mississippi,  which  then  existed  as 
deep  channels  in  the  inland  sea  that  then  covered  the  northwest; 
and  consequently  none  of  the  coarse  drift  material  could  pass  over 
this  barrier  and  be  deposited  upon  the  region  directly  to  the  south 
of  it,  and  only  the  finer  sediments  which  were  held  in  suspension 
in  the  water  were  precipitated  over  the  so-called  driftless  region 


SUKFACE    GEOLOGY.  23 

immediately  south  of  this  barrier.  This  view  explains  the  phenomena 
observed  on  the  south  of  the  Wisconsin  in  a  very  satisfactory 
manner,  but  is  not,  of  course,  applicable  to  any  part  of  the  region 
north  of  that  stream. 

On  the  contrary,  Prof.  WHITNEY  contends  that  this  region  was 
elevated  above  the  ocean  immediately  after  the  deposition  of  the 
upper  Silurian  limestones,  and  has  not  since  been  submerged;  and 
that  all  the  phenomena  exhibited  in  its  surface  geology,  at  the 
present  time,  have  resulted  from  the  action  of  the  rain  and  frost 
upon  the  surface  since  its  elevation  above  the  water  level.  In  con- 
firmation of  this  view  he  cites  the  following  facts : 

"1st.  The  entire  absence  of  boulders  or  pebbles,  or  any  rolled 
and  waterworn  materials  which,  by  their  nature,  would  indicate  that 
the  region  in  question  had  been  exposed  to  the  action  of  those 
causes  by  which  the  drift  phenomena  were  produced." 

"2d.  The  absence  of  any  signs  of  stratification  in  the  superficial 
detritus  covering  the  district  indicated  on  the  map,  and  designated 
as  the  driftless  region." 

"3d.  The  entire  absence  of  all  traces  of  marine  or  fresh-water 
animals  in  the  superficial  detritus  of  the  region  in  question." 

In  answer  to'  the  first  proposition  cited  above,  it  may  be  only 
necessary  to  say  that  the  absence  of  boulders  and  pebbles,  in  the 
region  south  of  the  Wisconsin  river,  is  accounted  for  in  a  very  sat- 
isfactory manner  by  adopting  the  views  of  Dr.  PERCTVAL,  while  some 
of  the  phenomena  which  are  presented  in  this  region  are  totally 
inexplicable,  on  the  supposition  that  the  surface  has  not  been  sub- 
merged since  its  original  elevation  above  the  Silurian  seas. 

2d.  The  finer  sediments,  or  brown  clays,  which  overlie  the  coarser 
drift  material,  over  a  large  portion  of  this  State,  do  not  usually 
present  any  appearance  of  stratification;  and  yet  their  sedimentary 
origin  has  never  been  questioned,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  and  they 
present  the  same  general  appearance  and  cannot  easily  be  distin- 
guished from  those  occupying  the  surface  of  the  lead  region. 

3d.  The  brown  clays  of  the  drift  do  not  contain  the  remains  of 
marine  or  fresh-water  animals,  in  any  portion  of  the  State,  where 
they  have  fallen  under  our  observation,  while  fresh-water  and  land 
shells  are  often  abundant  in  the  marly  beds  of  the  loess  which  over- 
lie the  brown  clays  of  the  drift  in  the  same  portions  of  the  State ; 
so  that  the  absence  of  fossils  from  these  clays  will  hardly  be  accepted 
as  conclusive  evidence  that  they  are  not  of  sedimentary  origin. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  notice,  briefly,  some  of  the  facts  observed 
in  this  region  which  have  led  us  to  believe  that  this  whole  region 


24  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

has  been  subject  to  influences  which,  in  their  effects,  cannot  be  dis- 
tinguished from  those  now  generally  accredited  to  drift  agencies. 

1st.  The  river  valleys  which  traverse  this  driftless  region — especially 
those  of  the  Mississippi  and  Wisconsin — present  the  same  general 
appearance  that  characterizes  the  river  valleys  of  the  entire  north- 
west, and  have  apparently  been  produced  or  greatly  modified  by 
causes  far  more  potent  than  the  eroding  agencies  now  in  operation 
upon  the  surface.  They  are  undoubtedly  ancient  valleys,  cut  into 
the  solid  limestone  strata  by  long  continued  agencies,  but  were  sub- 
sequently modified  and  extended  by  the  action  of  later  agencies 
during  the  submergence  of  the  whole  region,  and  subsequently  par- 
tially filled  with  superficial  material,  upon  which  the  rivers  now  run 
in  channels  far  above  the  rocky  bottom  of  these  ancient  troughs. 

2d.  From  Prof.  WHITNEY'S  report,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  land 
adjacent  to  this  driftless  region,  both  on  the  east  and  on  the  west, 
is  really  elevated  above  it,  as  is  proven  by  the  course  of  the  streams, 
which  have  their  sources  in  the  region  now  covered  by  drift  deposits, 
both  east  and  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  their  outlets  at  a  neces- 
sarily lower  level  into  that  stream  and  within  the  limits  of  the  so- 
called  driftless  region.  This  is  especially  to  be  observed  in  that 
portion  north  of  the  Wisconsin  and  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  how 
these  lower  lands  could  have  been  elevated  above  the  level  of  the 
waters  of  the  drift  era,  while  the  higher  lands  of  the  surrounding 
region  were  submerged,  is  a  problem  we  are  unable  to  solve. 

3d.  The  occurrence  of  northern  drift  in  the  river  valleys  in  this 
region,  either  in  its  original  or  modified  form,  cannot  be  accounted 
for  in  a  satisfactory  manner  on  the  supposition  that  the  surface  has 
not  been  submerged  since  the  Silurian  epoch.  According  to  the 
observations  of  Mr.  KIMBALL,  as  cited  by  Prof.  WHITNEY  in  the  Wis- 
consin Eeport,  true  northern  drift  was  observed  by  him  in  the  valley 
of  the  Wisconsin ;  and  we  have  observed  beds  of  modified  drift  in 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  as  well  as  some  of  the  small  tributa- 
ries running  into  it  in  the  region  under  consideration.  The  town  of 
Bellevue,  in  Iowa,  a  few  miles  below  Galena,  is  built  upon  a  terrace 
of  modified  drift,  which  is  at  least  forty  feet  above  the  river  level; 
and  in  the  valley  of  the  Small-pox,  which  empties  into  the  Missis- 
sippi just  below  the  mouth  of  Fever  river,  a  deposit  of  modified  drift 
may  be  seen  extending  up  the  valley  of  that  stream  for  a  distance 
of  two  or  three  miles.  At  the  lower  end  it  is  elevated  some  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  above  the  high-water  level  of  the  river,  while  its  elevation 
at  the  upper  end  is  considerably  greater. 


SUKFACE    GEOLOGY.  25 

In  the  bluffs  of  the  Mississippi,  about  two  miles  below  the  mouth 
of  Fever  river,  at  the  California  diggings,  we  obtained  some,  small 
boulders  of  greenstone  and  porphyry  from  the  talus  of  the  bluffs,  at  * 
an  elevation  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  above  the  river  level,  and 
smaller  pebbles  of  the  same  kinds  of  rock  were  quite  abundant.  We 
are  also  permitted  to  state,  on  the  authority  of  Capt.  E.  H.  BEEBE, 
of  Galena,  that  several  specimens  of  native  copper  have...  been  found, 
at  this  locality,  in  the  crevices  of  the  Galena  limestone,  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  river  level. 

4th.  The  removal  of  the  great  thickness  of  strata,  consisting,  for 
the  most  part,  of  hard  dolomitic  limestones,  which  were  once  con- 
tinuous over  this  whole  region,  and  have  been  subsequently  swept 
away  by  denuding  forces,  cannot  be  explained  in  a  satisfactory 
manner  by  the  action  of  existing  surface  agencies.  Prof.  WHITNEY 
admits,  in  the  report  above  referred  to,  that  the  amount  of  denuda- 
tion to  which  this  region  has  been  subjected  was  equal  to  the  removal 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  thickness  of  solid  rock  strata,  the 
greater  part  of  which  were  hard  calcareo-magnesian  rocks,  and  this 
is  proven  by  the  existence  of  the  isolated  mounds  of  Niagara  lime- 
stone now  remaining  as  outliers  of  this  formation  and  indicating  the 
former  level  of  the  whole  region.  It  seems  to  us  that  the  existing 
surface  agencies  are  entirely  inadequate  to  the  production  of  such 
results,  no  matter  how  long  the  period  may  have  been  through 
which  their  operation  extended. 

5th.  The  deposits  of  red  and  brown  clay  which  cover  this  whole 
region,  except  the  points  and  steep  escarpments  of  the  hills,  to  the 
depth  of  from  ten  to  twenty  feet,  present  the  same  general  appear- 
ance as  the  brown  clays  of  the  upper  part  of  the  drift  deposits,  and 
appear  to  have  originated  from  similar  causes.  Above  this  clay 
deposit,  along  the  river  bluffs,  we  find  mounds  of  marly  sand  exactly 
like  those  of  the  loess ;  and  as  these  are  often  selected  by  the 
aborigines  as  places  of  burial,  they  have  been  regarded  by  many  as 
artificial  mounds,  raised  by  them  for  that  purpose.  We  regard  them, 
however,  as  natural  mounds  of  loess,  formed  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  mounds  of  Niagara  limestone,  by  the  removal  of  the  surrounding 
strata  by  denuding  forces,  and  conclude,  consequently,  that  the  loess 
was  originally  a  continuous  deposit  along  the  river  bluffs  in  this  por- 
tion of  the  State.  We  cannot  believe  that  the  beds  of  clay  or  the 
marly  sands  above  them  have  been  formed  by  the  decomposition  of 
the  underlying  rock  strata,  but,  rather,  that  they  are  derived  from 
transported  material  that  has  been  accumulated  while  the  whole 
surface  was  submerged. 


26  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Now,  whether  we  accept  the  views  of  Dr.  PERCIVAL,  or  not,  as 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  general  absence  of  coarse  drift  material 
in  the  region  under  consideration,  we  shall  at  least  be  obliged  to 
attribute  this  peculiar  feature  in  the  surface  geology  of  the  north- 
western portion  of  the  State,  to  some  other  cause  than  that  of  a 
continuous  elevation  of  the  surface  above  the  water  level,  ever  since 
the  formation  of  the  upper  Silurian  limestones.  It  seems  highly 
probable,  at  least,  that  the  drift  accumulations  were  never  so  thick 
in  this  region  as  in  other  portions  of  the  northwest,  perhaps  for  the 
reasons  suggested  by  Dr.  PEBCIVAL;  and  that  these  deposits  were 
afterwards  modified  or  entirely  removed,  by  the  action  of  sub-aqueous 
currents,  before  the  final  elevation  of  the  surface  above  the  water 
level. 

We  have  dwelt  somewhat  at  length  upon  the  surface  geology  of  the 
State,  because  these  deposits  are  so  generally  disseminated  that  they 
are,  per  force,  brought  under  the  notice  of  almost  every  inhabitant, 
while  there  appears  to  be  a  very  general  lack  of  anything  like  cor- 
rect views,  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  in  relation  to  the  conditions 
under  which  they  have  been  formed,  or  the  causes  to  which  they 
owe  their  origin.  Every  man  who  digs  a  cellar  or  sinks  a  well, 
necessarily  penetrates  into  these  deposits,  and  in  every  cut  upon  our 
railroads  the  passing  traveler  has  an  opportunity  of  examining,  to 
some  extent,  the  peculiar  features  of  the  drift ;  and  yet,  how  seldom 
do  we  hear  an  inquiry  made  or  a  passing  remark  to  indicate  that 
the  mind  takes  hold  of  the  phenomena  thus  presented,  or  is  incited 
thereby  to  investigate  the  natural  causes  to  which  their  origin  may 
be  attributed. 

Moreover,  these  deposits  are  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  agri- 
cultural interests  of  the  State,  because  the  soil  is  predicated  upon 
this  superficial  detritus,  and  owes  its  productive  qualities,  in  part 
at  least,  to  its  homogeneous  character.  We  find  in  the  dynamic 
laws,  which  have  resulted  in  the  accumulation  of  the  superficial 
material  with  which  the  stratified  rocks  are  generally  covered  in  this 
State,  all  the  essential  conditions  necessary  for  the  production  of  a 
soil  possessing  great  uniformity  of  texture  and  almost  unexampled 
fertility  over  wide  areas  of  territory.  All  the  various  stratified  rocks 
and  other  mineral,  masses  which  go  to  make  up  the  solid  strata  of 
the  earth's  crust,  have  been  brought  together  from  an  area  of  several 
thousand  square  miles  in  extent,  and  in  a  finely  comminuted  condi- 
tion have  been  intermingled  in  a  common  mass,  already  prepared  for 
the  production  of  a  soil  containing  all  the  essential  mineral  ingre- 


SURFACE    GEOLOGY.  27 

clients  for  the  sustenance  and  growth  of  vegetable  life,  and  preserving 
a  remarkably  uniform  character  over  a  wide  extent  of  territory. 

Soils  are  mainly  composed  of  mineral  matter  in  a  finely  commi- 
nuted condition,  to  which  is  added,  from  year  to  year,  the  vegetable 
and  animal  matters  which  accumulate  upon  the  surface.  If  the 
superficial  deposits  are  absent,  the  soil  is  formed  by  the  decomposi- 
tion of  the  stratified  rocks  upon  which  it  rests,  and  is  subject  to 
abrupt  local  changes,  as  we  pass  from  one  geological  formation  to 
another  of  a  different  character."  If  the  rock  is  a  sandstone,  it  will 
form  a  light  sandy  soil ;  if  a  clay  shale  or  other  argillaceous  rock,  a 
heavy  clay  soil  will  be  the  result ;  and  if  a  limestone,  it  will  produce 
a  calcareous  soil,  and  so  on ;  and  there  will  necessarily  be  a  marked 
change  in  the  soil  with  every  variation  which  occurs  in  the  character 
of  the  underlying  rock  strata. 

From  what  has  been  already  said  in  regard  to  the  general  character 
of  the  drift  deposits,  and  the  conditions  under  which  they  have  been 
accumulated,  it  will  be  apparent  to  every  reflecting  mind  that  no 
valuable  deposits  of  mineral  wealth  could  be  expected  to  occur  in 
them.  Nevertheless,  the  fragments  of  native  copper,  lead,  iron  and 
bits  of  coal  which  they  contain  are  often  regarded,  by  the  superficial 
observer,  as  indicative  of  valuable  deposits  of  these  minerals,  whereas 
the  fragments  themselves  have  been  transported  perhaps  for  hundreds 
of  miles  from  their  original  beds.*  As  well  might  they  expect  to  find 
a  bed  of  granite  or  porphyry  in  the  vicinity  where  boulders  of  these 
rocks  occur,  for  the  metallic  ores,  the  coal  and  the  copper  have  been 
transported  from  distant  localities,  and  by  the  same  agencies  that 
brought  the  boulders.  These  specimens  are  ocly  interesting  or  valu- 
able as  going  to  show  the  direction  from  which  the  drift  has  come. 
The  native  copper  has  come  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  the 
ores  of  lead  from  the  Galena  lead  region,  and  the  iron  and  coal  from 
the  Coal  Measures  of  our  own  State,  over  which  the  drift  currents 
have  passed. 

But  these  deposits  are  by  no  means  destitute  of  useful  and  valuable 
material  for  industrial  use.  The  clays  and  sands  so  universally  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  brick  are  mainly  furnished  by  them,  and  the  y 
are  also  the  great  reservoir  from  which  our  wells  are  supplied  with 
water.  The  blue  clay  at  the  base  of  the  drift  forms  a  good  materia  [ 
for  the  manufacture  of  coarse  pottery  and  drain  tile,  when  mixed 
with  a  portion  of  the  brown  clays  above  it;  and  the  gravel  beds 

*  In  a  few  instances  minute  particles  of  gold  have  been  found  in  the  drift,  and  sometimes 
charlatans,  professing  to  be  geologists,  have  availed  themselves  of  this  fact  to  proclaim 
to  the  world  wonderful  and  valuable  discoveries  of  gold  in  our  State. 


28  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

furnish  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  material  for  the  construction  of 
roads.  Extensive  beds  of  peat  are  known  to  exist  in  Northern  Illinois, 
resting  upon  the  drift  clays ;  and  as  they  occur  in  a  region  destitute 
of  coal,  and  but  poorly  supplied  with  timber,  this  resource  for  fuel 
promises  to  be  one  of  considerable  importance. 

Since  the  above  was  written,  we  have  examined  the  peat  deposit 
on  what  is  known  as  the  Cat-tail  Slough,  in  Whiteside  county.  This 
slough  is  in  a  low  swail  or  swamp  that  intersects  the  highlands 
between  the  Mississippi  and  Eock  river,  and  that  portion  of  it  in 
which  the  peat  is  deposited  is  situated  about  eight  miles  a  little 
north  of  west  of  Morrison.  It  was  first  discovered  by  Mr.  FRANKLIN 
DODGE,  about  the  year  1856,  when  he  commenced  working  it,  and  it 
has  been  used  as  a  fuel  for  burning  lime,  and  for  heating  and  cooking 
in  the  adjacent  farm  houses,  from  that  time  till  the  present.  The 
deposit  has  been  explored  and  proved  over  a  surface  about  four  miles 
in  length  and  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  breadth.  It  has  already 
been  dug,  in  some  places,  to  the  depth  of  nine  feet,  and  is  thought 
to  be  even  much  thicker  than  this.  Iron  rods  have  been  sunk  in  it 
to  the  depth  of  twelve  feet,  without  any  perceptible  change  in  the 
general  character  of  the  deposit.  When  dried  it  is  of  a  dark-brown 
color,  quite  free,  apparently,  from  all  earthy  matters,  and  burns 
freely.  It  is  cut  from  the  bed  in  brick-shaped  pieces,  about  eighteen 
inches  long,  four  inches  wide  and  four  inches  thick.  It  is  said  to 
coke  well,  and  if  so,  it  becomes  a  very  valuable  fuel  for  the  manu- 
facture of  iron  and  steel.  This  material,  when  dried  for  use,  is  worth, 
on  the  ground,  about  four  dollars  per  cord,  or  the  same  price  as  ordi- 
nary hard  wood. 

"A  patent  has  been  obtained  by  Mr.  WILLIAMS,*  Managing  Director 
of  the  Dublin  Steam  Navigation  Company,  for  a  method  of  convert- 
ing the  lightest  peat  into  the  following  products :  1st,  a  brown 
combustible  solid,  denser  than  oak  wood;  2d,  a  charcoal  twice  as 
compact  as  that  made  from  hard  wood;  3d,  a  factitious  coal;  and, 
4th,  a  factitious  coke — each  of  which  possesses  very  valuable  prop- 
erties. This  turf  charcoal  of  Mr.  WILLIAMS  has  been  demonstrated 
to  be  20  per  cent,  more  combustible  than  that  made  from  oak  wood ; 
but  one  of  the  most  important  results  of  this  invention,  to  the  inter- 
ests of  steam  navigation,  is,  that  by  adding  25  per  cent,  of  the  fac- 
titious coal  made  from  peat  to  the  ordinary  pit-coal  used  on  these 
steamers,  a  saving  of  30  per  cent,  is  obtained  in  the  stowage  of  fuel, 
1,250  pounds  of  the  mixed  fuel  being  equivalent,  for  the  generation 

*8ee  Urea'  Dictionary  of  Science  and  Arts,  vol.  2,  p.  873. 


SURFACE    GEOLOGY.  29 

of  steam,  to  1,750  pounds  of  pit-coal.  Experiments  have  also  proved 
that  the  coke  from  ordinary  turf  seems  to  be  capable  of  producing 
a  far  more  intense  heat  than  common  charcoal.  It  has  been  found 
preferable  to  all  other  fuel  for  case-hardening  iron,  tempering  steel, 
forging  horseshoes,  and  welding  gun  barrels." 

Peat  is  no  doubt  formed  from  a  succulent  vegetation,  such  as  the 
grasses,  marsh  plants  and  mosses  that  accumulate,  year  after  year, 
on  the  surface  of  swamps  and  low  marshy  lands.  According  to 
DANA,  (Manual  of  Geology,  p.  613,)  "the  peat  of  temperate  climates 
is  due  to  the  growth  of  mosses  belonging  to  the  genus  Sphagnum. 
This  plant  forms  a  loose  turf,  and  has  the  property  of  dying  at  the 
extremity  of  the  roots  as  it  increases  above ;  and  it  thus  may  gradu- 
ally form  a  bed  of  great  thickness.  The  roots  and  leaves  of  other 
plants,  or  their  branches  and  stumps,  and  any  other  vegetation 
present,  may  contribute  to  the  accumulation  of  the  bed." 

Certain  antiseptic  conditions  are  almost  always  observed  in  peat 
swamps,  by  which  any  animal  matter  that  becomes  embedded  in 
them  is  sometimes  preserved  for  ages  without  undergoing  decompo- 
sition; and  the  preservation  of  the  vegetable  matter  that  forms  the 
peat  may  be,  in  part,  due  to  the  same  cause.  Human  bodies  are 
said  to  have  been  exhumed  from  the  peat-mosses  of  England  and 
Ireland,  where  they  had  been  buried  for  centuries,  and  yet  decom- 
position had  not  taken  place,  though  the  flesh  had  been  transformed 
into  adipocere.  The  remains  of  the  great  Irish  elk,  an  animal  now 
extinct,  is  often  found  in  the  peat  bogs  of  Ireland,  associated  with 
the  canoes  and  stone  implements  of  the  savage  islander,  and  hence 
these  deposits  become  of  great  interest  to  the  antiquarian;  and  the 
evidences  which  these  fossils  afford,  in  relation  to  the  character  of 
the  early  inhabitants  of  the  island,  are  both  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive. 

No  animal  remains  have,  as  yet,  been  discovered  in  the  peat-beds 
of  Northern  Illinois,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn ;  but  it  is 
quite  likely  that,  when  these  beds  come  to  be  more  extensively 
worked,  such  fossils  will  be  found;  and  it  is  very  desirable  that  all 
persons  engaged  about  a  peat-bed  should  understand  the  importance 
of  preserving  every  bone,  or  other  relic  of  the  animal  kingdom,  that 
may  be  met  with  in  the  prosecution  of  their  labor,  and  especially 
any  remains  of  man,  or  his  works,  that  may  be  there  embedded, 
and  to  note  with  care  the  position  they  hold,  or  the  depth  at  which 
they  are  found  below  the  surface.  And  I  would  desire  to  impress 
this  fact  upon  the  citizens  of  all  portions  of  this  State,  that  all  fos- 
sils of  this  kind,  found  within  our  own  borders,  are  of  much  greater 


30  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

value  and  interest  to  the  people  of  our  own  State  than  they  possibly 
can  be  to  the  owners  of  any  eastern  museum. 

The  conditions  which  prevailed  during  the  drift  period  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  favorable  for  the  preservation  of  the  remains 
of  organic  beings,  and  hence  fossils  are  of  rare  occurrence  in  the 
true  drift.  The  trunks  and  branches  of  coniferous  trees,  belonging, 
apparently,  to  existing  species,  are  quite  common  in  the  blue  clays 
at  the  base  of  the  drift ;  and  in  the  brown  clays  above,  the  remains 
of  the  Mammoth,  the  Mastodon  and  the  Peccary  are  occasionally 
met  with.  The  fine  fragment  of  a  Mastodon's  jaw,  with  the  teeth, 
found  at  Alton,  was  obtained  from  a  bed  of  local  drift  underlying 
the  loess  of  the  bluffs,  which,  at  this  point,  was  about  thirty  feet 
thick,  and  remained  in  situ  above  the  bed  from  which  the  fossils 
were  taken.  Stone  axes  and  flint  spear-heads  are  also  found  in  the 
same  horizon,  indicating  that  the  human  race  was  contemporary  with 
the  extinct  mammalia  of  the  Quaternary  period. 

The  remains  of  a  Mammoth  were  found,  a  few  years  since,  at 
Peoria,  in  the  modified  drift  gravel  that  forms  the  bluffs  back  of  the 
city,  and  a  part  of  a  tooth,  with  a  portion  of  the  jaw-bone  to  which 
it  was  attached,  was  presented  to  the  State  Cabinet  by  the  discov- 
erer, where  it  is  still  preserved.  A  fine  tooth  of  a  Mastodon  was 
also  found  in  Gallatin  county,  and  presented  to  the  State  Cabinet, 
but  under  what  conditions  it  was  found,  is  not  at  present  known. 
A  tooth  of  a  Mammoth  was  found  by  Mr.  DAVID  MILLER,  in  a  sand 
drift,  near  the  South  Fork  of  the  Sangamon  river,  in  Christian 
county,  and  was  presented  by  him  to  the  State  Cabinet.  This 
specimen  is  of  a  chalky-white  color,  and  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  impregnated  with  any  mineral  substance  since  it  was  embedded 
in  the  earth. 

In  the  Galena  lead  region,  the  remains  of  extinct  mammalia  have 
been  found,  in  considerable  abundance,  in  the  brown  clays  that 
overlie  the  limestones,  and  also  in  the  crevices  of  the  limestone, 
into  which  they  have  been  drifted  by  aqueous  agencies.  Nearly  all 
the  specimens  found  in  this  region  have  been  sent  to  eastern  cabinets. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  original  position  in  which  these 
fossils  are  found,  is  so  seldom  determined  with  accuracy  by  those 
who  accidentally  discovered  them,  as  every  fact  of  this  kind,  if  care- 
fully noted,  tends  to  throw  some  additional  light  on  the  question  as 
to  when  these  animals  finally  became  extinct,  and  is  of  scientific 
value  to  the  practical  geologist.  They  appear  to  be  most  generally 
obtained  from  the  upper  part  of  the  drift,  on  the  highlands,  or  from 
the  modified  drift  of  the  river  valleys. 


CHAPTER    II. 

STRATIGRAPHICAL  GEOLOGY,  TERTIAEY  DEPOSITS,  AND 
COAL  MEASURES. 

STRATIGRAPHICAL   GEOLOGY. 

The  subjoined  vertical  section  (Sec.  1)  is  given  to  illustrate  the 
order  of  succession  and  comparative  thickness  of  the  several  forma- 
tions which  have  been  discovered  and  identified  during  the  progress 
of  the  geological  survey,  and  will  be  found  to  comprise  all  the 
important  sub-divisions  of  the  strata,  that  appear  above  the  surface, 
within  the  limits  of  the  State. 

For  the  sub-divisions  of  the  Silurian  and  Devonian  systems,  we 
have  adopted  the  nomenclature  of  the  New  York  Reports,  so  far  as  we 
could  positively  identify  our  strata  with  those  of  that  State,  because 
the  latter  are  generally  understood  by  all  students  of  geological 
science,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  For  the  different 
members  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestone  series,  we  have 
accepted,  in  part,  the  names  proposed  in  the  Missouri  and  Iowa 
Reports,  with  such  changes  as  we  believe  the  interests  of  science 
demand.  In  regard  to  these  sub-divisions,  a  few  words  of  explanar 
tion  and  a  simple  statement  of  facts  may  not  be  out  of  place  at 
this  time. 

In  the  Spring  of  1853,  while  acting  as  Assistant  Geologist  in  the 
Illinois  Survey,  I  was  directed  by  Dr.  NORWOOD,  at  that  time  the 
State  Geologist,  to  go  to  Randolph  county,  and  determine,  if  possible, 
the  relative  position  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone  and  the  beds  forming 
the  river  bluffs  at  Chester;  and  it  is,  perhaps,  proper  to  state  that, 
up  to  that  time,  the  former  were  supposed  to  overlie  the  latter  beds. 

At  Prairie  du  Rocher,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  I  found 
the  St.  Louis  limestone  in  situ,  forming  the  entire  bluff,  and  two 
miles  below  I  saw  this  limestone  [passing  under  a  massive  brown 
sandstone,  more  than  a  hundred  feet  in  thickness.  Six  miles  below 


Sec.  I. 


OF    THE 


Thickness. 


Quater- 
nary. 

50  to 
150  Ft. 

Alluvium,  Loess  and  Drift. 

Tertiary. 

150 

Eocene  ? 

COAL  MEASURES  AND  CON- 
GLOMERATE. 

600  to 
1200 

Coal  Measures 
and  Conglomerate. 

LOWER  CARBONIFEROUS. 

500  to 
800 

Chester  Group. 

50  to  200 

St.  Louis  Group. 

100  to 
150 

Keokuk  Group. 

25  to 
200 

Burlington  Limestone. 

100  to 
150 

Kinderhook  Group. 

DEVONIAN. 

10  to  60 

Black  Slate. 

10  to  120 

Devonian  Limestone. 

40  to  60 

Oriskany  Sandstone. 

300  to 
350 

Clear  Creek  Limestone. 

UPPER 
SILURIAN. 

50  to 

200 

Niagara  Limestone. 

LOWER 
SILURIAN. 

60  to  140 

Cincinnati  Group. 

200  to 
300 

Galena  and  Trenton  Limestone. 

150 

St.  Peters  Sandstone. 

100-220 

Calciferous  or  Lower  Magnesian  Limestone. 

STRATIGRAPHICAL    GEOLOGY.  33 

Prairie  du  Rocher,  this  sandstone  also  passed  below  the  surface,  and 
was  succeeded  by  another  limestone  formation,  which  was  traced 
continuously  to  Chester,  and  from  there  south  along  the  river  bluffs 
into  Jackson  county,  where  it  was  overlaid  by  the  sandstones  that 
form  the  base  of  the  Coal  Measures.  I  returned  to  New  Harmony, 
Indiana,  the  headquarters  of  the  Survey  at  that  time,  and  commu- 
nicated the  results  to  Dr.  NORWOOD,  with  a  copy  of  my  notes  and  a 
section,  in  which  I  designated  the  beds  at  Chester  as  the  Chester 
limestone.  He  expressed  some  doubts  as  to  the  correctness  of  the 
conclusions  to  which  I  had  arrived,  because  they  conflicted  with  the 
views  of  most  Western  geologists,  especially  those  of  Missouri,  and 
he  proposed  going  over  the  ground  with  me,  for  the  purpose  of 
reviewing  the  section  I  had  made.  Accordingly,  in  the  autumn  of 
the  same  year  I  revisited  that  region  in  company  with  Dr.  Norwood, 
and  we  re-traced  the  bluffs  from  the  Big  Muddy  River,  in  Jackson 
county,  to  Prairie  du  Rocher,  in  Randolph  county,  confirming  to  his 
entire  satisfaction  the  correctness  of  the  section  previously  made. 
Holding  a  subordinate  position  in  the  Survey,  I  did  not  feel  at  liberty 
to  publish  the  facts  I  observed  in  the  prosecution  of  my  labors  in 
the  field,  and  as  they  were  not  announced  by  the  Chief  of  the  Sur- 
vey, who  alone  had  the  authority  to  make  known  the  scientific 
results  attained  in  the  prosecution  of  the  work,  these  facts  remained 
unknown,  except  to  the  members  of  the  Illinois  corps. 

On  the  appearance  of  the  Missouri  Report,  in  1857,  in  which  all 
the  limestones  containing  the  screw-shaped  fossil  known  as  Archi- 
medes, were  grouped  together  under  the  name  of  Archimedes  lime- 
stone, and  placed  below  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  I  informed  Prof. 
HALL,  with  whom  I  was  then  engaged  in  the  Iowa  survey,  of  the 
result  of  the  observations  I  had  previously  made  in  Illinois,  and  the 
true  sequence  of  the  strata,  as  determined  in  the  section  above 
named ;  and  he  at  once  proposed  that  at  the  conclusion  of  our  field 
labors  in  Iowa,  for  that  season,  we  should  go  to  Randolph  county, 
that  he  might  verify,  by  personal  observation,  the  conclusions  at 
which  I  had  arrived.  Accordingly,  in  October  of  that  year  we  went 
together  to  that  county,  and  for  the  third  time  I  traced  the  bluffs, 
on  foot,  from  Prairie  du  Rocher  to  Chester,  and  for  the  second  time 
verified  the  results  of  my  first  examination.  In  the  following  year 
(1856),  Prof.  HALL  read  a  paper  before  a  meeting  of  the  Albany 
Institute,  in  which  the  sub-divisions  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  lime- 
stone are  given  substantially  as  they  subsequently  appeared  in  the 
Iowa  Report.  His  reasons  for  substituting  the  name  of  Kaskaskia 
—6 


84  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

for  Chester  limestone  do  not  appear,  and  we  prefer  to  retain  the 
name  first  given  to  it  when  its  true  position  in  the  series  was  deter- 
mined. 

The  name  Ferruginous  sandstone  was  first  used  in  the  Missouri 
Eeport,  and  was  indiscriminately  applied  to  the  conglomerate  at  the 
base  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  to  the  massive  sandstone  deposits 
which  separate  the  Chester  from  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  the 
authors  mistaking  the  marked  differences  presented  in  the  character 
of  these  beds  for  lithological  changes  in  the  same  formation.  In 
the  Iowa  Eeport,  this  name  was  retained  for  the  last  named  sand- 
stone, but  as  it  really  belongs  to  the  Chester  group,  and  the  term 
ferruginous  sandstone  being  applicable  to  the  other  arenaceous  members 
of  the  group  as  well,  we  have  rejected  it,  and  in  our  general  section 
include  this  sandstone  as  a  lower  member  of  the  Chester  series, 
using  the  term  lower  Chester  sandstone  to  designate  it  from  the 
other  sandstones  of  this  group. 

The  argillaceous  shales  and  magnesian  limestones  exposed  above 
the  geode  bed  at  Warsaw,  in  Hancock  county,  and  the  oolitic  lime- 
stone three  miles  above  Alton,  in  Madison  county,  and  similar  beds 
at  Spergen  Hill,  and  three  miles  west  of  Bloomington,  in  Indiana, 
were  regarded  by  Prof.  HALL  as  forming  a  separate  division  of  the 
lower  Carboniferous  series  which,  in  the  Iowa  Report,  was  designated 
the  Warsaw  limestone.  The  organic  remains  of  these  beds,  on 
further  examination  of  many  localities,  show  them  to  be  so  inti- 
mately related  to  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  that  we  have  included 
them  together,  in  our  general  section,  under  the  name  of  the 
St.  Louis  group.  The  varied  lithological  characters  presented  by 
the  different  divisions  of  the  groups,  at  different  localities,  no  doubt 
resulted  from  the  local  conditions  under  which  the  sediments  of 
which  they  were  formed  accumulated,  and  were  not  such  as  to 
effect  that  marked  change  in  the  conditions  of  organic  life  which 
characterized  the  main  divisions  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series. 
In  the  Iowa  Eeport,  published  in  1858,  Prof.  HALL  referred  the 
arenaceous  and  calcareous  beds  at  Burlington,  Iowa,  which  underlie 
the  Burlington  limestone  and  overlie  the  black  slate  formation  of 
the  West,  to  the  age  of  the  Chemung  group  of  New  York,  and 
subsequently  in  the  Thirteenth  Eeport  of  the  Eegents  of  the  New' 
York  University,  published  in  1860,  he  referred  the  equivalent  beds 
at  Eockford,  Indiana,  to  the  Marcellus  shale  which  forms  the  base 
of  the  Hamilton  group  of  the  New  York  series. 

In  a  paper  on  the  age  of  the   Goniatite  limestone  of  Eockford, 
Indiana,  by  MEEK  and  WORTHED,  published  .in  the  American  Journal 


TERTIARY.  85 

of  Science  for  September,  1861,  the  name  Kinderhook  Group  was 
proposed  to  include  not  only  the  Goniatite  limestone  of  Kockford, 
but  all  the  equivalent  strata  in  the  West  hitherto  referred  to  the  age 
of  Chemung.  We  also  showed,  in  the  paper  above  referred  to,  that 
the  Rockford  beds  could  not  belong  to  the  horizon  of  the  Marcellus 
shale,  because  they  overlie  not  only  the  Hamilton  limestone,  but 
the  Black  slate,  which  was  then  regarded  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Gen- 
essee  slate.  During  the  same  month  Prof.  HALL  issued  a  supple- 
mentary note  tp  page  95  of  the  Thirteenth  Eeport  of  the  Regents 
(which,  by  the  way,  was  only  inserted  in  a  part  of  the  edition),  in  which 
he  modified  his  previously  expressed  opinion  in  regard  to  the  age  of 
the  Goniatite  bed  at  Rockford,  Indiana,  and  carried  it  up  to  the  age 
of  the  Chemung  group,  and  at  the  same  time  admitted  that  the 
underlying  black  slate  might  be  the  equivalent  of  the  Genessee 
slate,  instead  of  belonging,  as  he  had  previously  supposed,  to  the 
Marcellus  shale.  The  reason  assigned  for  this  change  of  opinion  is 
the  discovery  of  a  Goniatite  in  bed  in  Ohio,  supposed  to  represent 
the  Chemung,  identical  with  a  Rockford  species.  It  is  now  generally 
admitted  that  there  is  no  specific  identity  between  the  fossils  of  the 
Chemung  or  any  other  division  of  the  Devonian  system  in  New 
York,  and  the  Kinderhook  group  in  the  West;  and  believing  the 
latter  to  be  Carboniferous,  and  not  Devonian,  we  have  retained  the 
name  originally  proposed  by  us  for  this  group,  and  placed  it  in  the 
general  section  at  the  base  of  the  Carboniferous  series,  where  it 
evidently  belongs. 

In  describing  the  several  formations  represented  in  the  foregoing 
section,  we  shall  take  them  up  in  their  regular  order  of  sequence, 
from  the  newest  or  uppermost  downward,  just  as  they  would  pre- 
sent themselves  before  us  in  a  single  vertical  section. 

TERTIARY.  ? 

This  system  has  only  been  identified  in  the  southern  portion  of 
the  State,  and  appears  to  attain  its  greatest  development  in  Pulaski. 
county,  where  it  is  represented  by  a  series  of  stratified  sands  and 
clays  of  various  colors,  with  beds  of  siliceous  gravel,  often  cemented 
into  a  ferruginous  conglomerate  by  the  infiltration  of  a  hydroxyd  of 
iron.  A  marked  feature  of  this  system,  in  Pulaski  county,  is  the 
presence  of  a  bed  of  green  marly  sand,  which,  from  its  lithological 
characters,  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  the  equivalent  of  the  creta- 
ceous green  sand  of  New  Jersey.  .An  examination  of  the  fossils  which 
it  affords,  however,  seem  to  leave  but  little  doubt  of  its  Tertiary  age. 
They  consist  of  marine  shells,  belonging  to  the  genera  Cucullea  and 


36  EQONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Turritella,  in  the  form  of  casts,  the  shell  itself  having  been  dissolved 
and  entirely  removed,  so  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  specific 
identification.  A  single  shark's  tooth  was  obtained  from  this  bed 
near  Caledonia.  Along  the  edge  of  the  Ohio,  at  Caledonia,  there  is 
a  thin  bed  of  lignite  to  be  seen,  at  extreme  low  water.  It  is  only 
a  few  inches  thick,  and  forms  the  lowest  stratum  of  the  Tertiary 
exposed  in  that  vicinity. 

At  Fort  Massac,  on  the  Ohio,  just  above  Metropolis,  the  ferru- 
ginous conglomerate  already  mentioned  is  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in 
thickness,  and  a  similar  bed  caps  some  of  the  highest  hills  in 
Union  county,  from  which  they  have  derived  the  local  name  of 
Iron  Mountains.  This  conglomerate  is  made  up  of  cherty  pebbles, 
cemented  with  iron  ore  or  "limonite,"  the  latter  in  some  cases  con- 
stituting as  much  as  one-half  the  entire  mass.  If  the  enclosed 
pebbles  were  limestone,  to  act  as  a  flux  to  the  ore,  it  would,  no 
doubt,  prove  a  valuable  deposit  of  iron;  but  as  they  appear  to  be 
entirely  siliceous,  it  can  scarcely  be  made  available  for  the  produc- 
tion of  metallic  iron. 

In  Alexander  county,  near  Santa  Fe,  there  is  a  bed  of  soft  quart- 
zose  sandstone  exposed  in  the  river  bluff,  which  we  regard  as  of 
Tertiary  age ;  and  in  the  hills,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  back  of  the 
town,  there  is  an  exposure  of  very  hard  quartzite,  which  appears  to 
be  of  the  same  age.  Some  excellent  clays  for  potters'  use  occur 
near  the  river,  just  above  Santa  Fe,  from  which  an  excellent 
article  of  stone- ware  has  been  made.  Siliceous  wood,  in  a  fine 
state  of  preservation,  has  been  found  quite  abundant  in  the  Tertiary 
beds  in  Pulaski  and  Alexander  counties. 

Although  no  Tertiary  beds  have  been  identified  north  of  Union 
county,  yet  certain  facts  have  been  observed  which  indicate  their 
occurrence,  in  local  patches  at  least,  as  far  north  as  the  mouth  of 
Skunk  river,  in  Iowa.  We  have  obtained  four  specimens  of  shark 
teeth,  belonging  to  as  many  different  species,  all  apparently  of 
Tertiary  types,  three  of  which  were  found  in  the  alluvial  sands  of 
the  Mississippi  and  Des  Moines  rivers,  in  the  vicinity  of  Warsaw,  in 
Hancock  county,  and  the  fourth  from  Skunk  river,  in  Iowa,  a  few 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  that  stream.  These  fossils  were  not  found 
in  the  original  matrix  in  which  they  were  embedded,  it  is  true,  but 
their  perfect  condition,  taken  in  connection  with  their  fragile  char- 
acter, renders  it  almost  certain  that  they  have  not  been  transported 
from  remote  localities  by  ordinary  drift  agencies.  They  must  have 
come  from  some  patches  of  Tertiary  beds,  originally  deposited  in 


TEETTARY.  37 

this  region,  and  perhaps  still  remaining  hidden  beneath  the  alluvial 
beds  of  the  Mississippi  valley.* 

In  Hancock  county,  a  thin  bed  of  ferruginous  conglomerate  was 
observed  in  situ  at  one  or  two  localities  at  the  base  of  the  drift, 
which  can  not  be  distinguished,  in  hand  specimens,  from  the  Tertiary 
conglomerate  of  Southern  Illinois ;  and  fragments  of  a  similar  kind 
of  rock  are  common  in  the  drift  in  that  part  of  the  State.  From 
these  facts  it  seems  probable  that  the  waters  of  the  Tertiary  ocean 
once  extended  up  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  at  least  as  far  as  the 
mouth  of  Skunk  river,  in  Iowa,  and  that  rocks  of  Tertiary  age  have 
once  been  deposited  at  least  three  hundred  miles  further  north,  in 
that  valley,  than  they  are  now  known  to  occur. 

Leaving  the  Tertiary  beds,  and  passing  downwards  in  the  geolog- 
ical scale,  we  find,  on  comparing  the  section  of  the  geological 
systems  of  our  own  State  with  that  where  the  sequence  of  strata  is 
complete,  as  shown  in  a  former  chapter,  that  there  is  a  hiatus  in 
the  Illinois  section,  embracing  three  entire  geological  systems. 
Their  absence  would  indicate  that  the  surface  of  this  State  was 
elevated  above  the  ocean's  level  during  the  whole  period  of  time 
that  was  consumed  in  the  deposition  of  the  Cretaceous,  Jurassic 
and  Triassic  systems  in  other  portions  of  this  continent. 

In  March,  1858,  Dr.  J.  G.  NORWOOD,  the  former  director  of  the 
Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,  read  a  paper  before  the  St.  Louis 
Academy  of  Science,  announcing  the  discovery  of  Permian  rocks  in 
Henry,  Bureau  and  LaSalle  counties,  in  Northern  Illinois.  Upon 
what  evidence  his  conclusions  were  based  does  not  appear,  for  there 
certainly  were  no  fossils  in  the  State  Cabinet  at  that  time,  from 
Northern  Illinois,  that  indicated  the  existence  of  any  stratified  rock  in 
that  portion  of  the  State  above  the  horizon  of  the  true  Coal  Measures. 

In  May,  of  the  same  year,  the  writer  exhibited,  at  the  Baltimore 
meeting  of  the  American  Scientific  Association,  a  collection  of 
fossils  from  Gallatin  county,  in  Southern  Illinois,  some  of  which 
were  admitted  to  present  as  strongly  marked  Permian  features  as 
those  from  beds  referred,  by  Prof.  SWALLOW,  to  the  lower  Permian 
series  of  Kansas,  which  were  there  present  for  comparison.  These 
fossils  were  collected  by  Dr.  NORWOOD  and  myself  in  the  summer  of 
1853,  and  had,  ever  since  that  time,  been  in  the  State  Cabinet,  and 
were  recognized  as  Coal  Measure  fossils. 

*  Since  the  original  publication  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Geological  Reports,  several 
species  of  characteristic  Cretaceous  fossils  have  been  found  in  the  region  where  the 
shark's  teeth  above  mentioned  were  obtained,  and  it  is  possible  that  they  may  also  belong 
to  the  Cretaceous  instead  of  the  Tertiary  formation. 


38  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  Permian  question,  at  Baltimore,  we  con- 
tended that  the  paleontological  evidence  presented  even  by  the 
Kansas  specimens  themselves,  taken  as  a  whole,  was  not  sufficient 
to  establish  the  existence  of  a  system  distinct  from  the  Coal 
Measures,  but,  on  the  contrary,  tended  to  prove  that  the  so-called 
Permian  system  of  Europe  was  the  equivalent  of  a  series  of  strata 
in  this  country  in  no  way  separable  from  the  true  Coal  Meas- 
ures. Holding,  still,  to  this  view  of  the  question,  we  have  omitted 
the  name,  Permian,  in  our  general  section,  believing  that  the  beds 
from  which  the  fossils  from  this  State  exhibited  at  Baltimore,  were 
obtained,  do  not  come  properly  within  the  division  of  the  series  to 
which  that  name  has  been  applied  in  Europe,  though  evidently  of 
the  same  age  as  the  beds  called  lower  Permian  by  Prof.  SWALLOW, 
in  Kansas. 

COAL   MEASURES. 

This  term  is  applied  to  a  certain  series  of  strata  which  contain 
all  the  principal  coal  beds  or  seams,  and  form  the  upper  division 
of  the  Carboniferous  system.  These  measures  consist  of  repeated 
alternations  of  sandstones,  shales,  bituminous  slates,  thin  bands  of 
limestone,  and  seams  of  coal,  with  the  under-clays  which  usually 
accompany  them.  In  Southern  Illinois  they  attain  an  aggregate 
thickness  of  twelve  to  fourteen  hundred  feet,  while  in  the  Northern 
portion  of  the  State  their  entire  thickness  does  not  exceed  six  or 
eight  hundred  feet. 

This  division  of  the  Carboniferous  system  is  a  grand  repository  of 
mineral  wealth,  by  far  the  most  important  and  valuable  at  present 
known  within  the  limits  of  the  State.  It  affords  an  inexhaustible 
store  of  mineral  fuel,  in  addition  to  the  valuable  deposits  of  iron 
ore,  potter's  clay,  fire  clay,  and  building  stone,  which  abounds  in  it 
at  some  localities. 

The  steam  engine  has  become  the  indispensable  agent  of  pro- 
ductive industry  throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  that  country 
which  possesses  the  greatest  facilities  for  the  cheap  generation  of 
steam  power,  all  other  things  being  equal,  will  inevitably  take  the 
advance  in  commerce  and  manufactures,  and  must,  consequently, 
progress  with  rapid  strides  on  the  highway  to  national  wealth  and 
power.  Coal  is  the  cheapest  fuel  at  present  known  for  the  genera- 
tion of  steam,  and  as  the  population  of  the  State  increases,  and  its 
commercial  interests  are  more  fully  developed,  creating  a  greatly 
increased  demand  for  mineral  fuel,  the  value  of  our  coal  mines  wilj 
be  more  highly  appreciated,  and  the  important  bearing  of  these  fuel 
resources  on  our  future  prosperity  will  be  better  understood. 


COAL    MEASURES.  39 

In  our  general  description  of  these  measures,  we  shall  include 
with  them  the  conglomerate  sandstones  at  the  base  of  the  true  Coal 
Measures,  which  have  heretofore  been  called  "barren  measures"  or 
Millstone-grit.  We  do  so  for  the  reason  that  they  contain,  in  this 
State,  coal  seams  of  workable  thickness,  and  shade  into  true  Coal 
Measures  in  such  a  manner  that  it  is  quite  difficult  to  fix  any 
dividing  line  between  them — thus  showing  that  they  were  deposited 
after  the  commencement  of  the  peculiar  physical  conditions  that 
characterized  the  great  coal  forming  era.  In  the  southern  part  of 
the  State  these  "barren  measures"  are  from  two  to  three  hundred 
feet  in  thickness,  and  at  some  points  contain  well  denned  coal 
seams,  though  they  are  generally  local  in  their  character. 

From  borings  reported  in  certain  portions  of  the  Illinois  coal 
field,  however,  it  appears  that  there  are  probably  some  limited 
areas  where  no  coal  exists  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  mined  with 
profit,  and  it  is  to  be  expected  that  future  experiments  with  the  drill 
will  clearly  define  the  extent  of  these  barren  areas.  But  a  single 
boring  cannot  be  relied  on  to  settle  this  point  at  any  given  locality, 
for  the  drill  might  strike  a  spot  where  the  coal  was  replaced  with 
clay  or  shale,  forming  what  the  miners  term  a  "horseback,"  as  was 
probably  the  case  in  the  boring  made  in  the  city  of  Springfield  in 
1858.  Here,  although  the  drill  was  sunk  to  the  depth  of  nearly 
1,200  feet,  the  record  showed  no  coal  more  than  a  few  inches  in 
thickness,  while  subsequent  investigations  have  demonstrated  that 
coal  No.  5,  one  of  the  most  important  and  reliable  seams  in  the 
State,  underlays  nearly  the  whole  area  of  Sangamon  county,  with 
an  average  thickness  of  about  six  feet,  and  at  a  depth  of  one  to 
four  hundred  feet  below  the  surface. 

The  productive  Coal  Measures,  where  fully  developed,  even  as  far 
north  as  Fulton  and  Peoria  counties,  contain  at  least  five  or  six 
workable  beds  of  coal,  having  an  aggregate  thickness  of  nearly  twenty 
feet.  In  a  section,  made  by  Dr.  D.  D.  OWEN,  of  the  Coal  Measures 
of  Southern  Illinois,  and  published  in  his  report  for  the  Shawneetown 
Mining  Company,  there  are  twelve  coal  seams,  with  an  aggregate 
thickness  of  about  thirty-five  feet.  These  are  included  in  about  eight 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  of  strata,  immediately  above  the  Conglomerate 
sandstone,  and  extending  upward  to  what  is  known,  in  the  Kentucky 
section,  as  the  Anvil-rock  sandstone. 

The  fact  was  already  generally  known  that  during  the  deposit  of, 
the  whole  series  of  strata  underlying  the  Coal  Measures,  from  the 
top  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestone  to  the  base  of  the  upper 
Silurian,  the  northern  shore  of  the  paleozoic  ocean  was  gradually 


40  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

rising  above  the  water  level,  in  consequence  of  which  the  boundary 
of  each  succeeding  group  of  rocks  was  curtailed  in  its  northern 
extension  before  reaching  the  limits  attained  by  the  preceding  one  ; 
and  the  whole  surface  being  again  brought  to  the  ocean  level  and 
frequently  submerged  during  the  coal  era,  the  Coal  Measures  were 
found  to  overlie  unconformably  all  the  subordinate  formations,  suc- 
cessively, from  the  St.  Peters  sandstone  of  the  lower  Silurian  era 
to  the  Chester  limestone,  which  is  the  upper  member  of  the  lower 
Carboniferous  limestones,  and  which  would  have  formed  the  sub- 
stratum on  which  the  Coal  Measures  would  have  rested  over  the 
whole  area  of  the  State,  but  for  the  elevatory  process  already  men- 
tioned. 

But  it  was  not  known,  until  the  facts  were  brought  to  light  by  the 
recent  investigations  of  the  Geological  Survey,  that  this  subsidence 
of  the  coal  era  was  as  gradual  as  the  preceding  elevation  had  been, 
and  in  consequence  of  this  the  upper  portion  of  the  Coal  Measures 
only  had  been  deposited  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  State.  This 
will,  perhaps,  also  account  for  the  apparent  unequal  distribution  of 
the  coal  in  different  portions  of  the  coal  field,  because  the  coal  seams 
occur  at  certain  horizons  in  the  measures,  and  are  separated,  in  some 
cases,  by  one  or  two  hundred  feet  of  strata  that  contain  no  workable 
coal,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  sections  given  in  the  detailed 
surveys  of  the  various  counties,  as  well  as  in  the  report  of  the 
writer  on  the  general  distribution  of  the  coal,  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  opinion  has  been  entertained  and  expressed  by  some  geolo- 
gists that  the  Illinois  coal  field  was  not  a  continuous  basin,  but, 
rather,  a  series  of  small  basins,  which  were  separated  from  each 
other  by  outcrops  of  the  older  rocks.  This  opinion  I  believe  was 
first  advanced  by  Dr.  E.  P.  STEVENS,  and  afterwards  received  the 
indorsement  of  Dr.  NOEWOOD,*  and,  more  recently,  has  been  repeated 
by  itinerant  lecturers  and  amateur  geologists,  who  attempt  to  explain 
in  this  way  the  irregular  distribution  of  the  coal  in  different  portions 
of  the  State.  If  this  were  really  the  case,  then  we  should  expect  to 
find  these  lower  Carboniferous  rocks  outcropping  at  various  localities 
within  the  limits  of  the  coal  field,  in  the  anti-clinal  axes  separating 
these  coal  basins.  But  no  localities  have  been  cited,  so  far  as  we 
know,  by  those  professing  to  entertain  these  views,  where  such  out- 
crops can  be  seen,  and  we  have  not  been  able  to  discover,  in  our 
investigations  in  various  portions  of  the  State,  a  single  locality  of 
this  kind. 

*See  Dr.  Norwood's  Report  on  Illinois  Coals,  page  91. 


COAL   MEASURES.  .  41 

From  the  northern  boundaries  of  the  field,  in  LaSalle  and  the 
adjoining  counties,  to  its  southern  limits,  near  the  Ohio  river,  and 
from  its  western  boundary  to  the  Wabash,  no  such  axis  has  been 
seen.  And  moreover,  every  boring  attempted  in  the  State,  within 
the  recognized  limits  of  the  coal  field,  has  revealed  the  existence  of 
the  Coal  Measure  strata,  although  not  always  showing  the  presence 
of  the  coal  beds.  It  is  true  that  we  find,  in  some  of  the  river  val- 
leys, exposures  of  lower  Carboniferous  rocks,  while  coal  is  found  on 
either  side  of  the  valley;  but  it  is  always  at  its  proper  and  higher 
level,  and  its  absence  in  the  valley  is  simply  due  to  the  erosion  and 
removal  of  the  strata,  by  the  denuding  forces  which  excavated  the 
valley  to  a  lower  level  than  that  occupied  by  the  Coal  Measures. 

It  is  also  true  that  the  limestones,  on  which  the  Coal  Measures 
rest,  presented  an  uneven  surface  for  the  reception  of  the  coal- 
bearing  strata,  but  this  was  probably  due  rather  to  denuding  influ- 
ences, which  had  worn  the  surface  into  shallow  troughs  or  valleys, 
than  to  the  upheaval  and  dislocation  of  the  strata,  and  it  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  find  thin  outliers  of  coal  along  the  borders  of  the  coal  field 
^that  have  been  deposited  in  such  shallow  troughs  in  the  limestone, 
caused  by  the  erosion  of  the  strata.  We  have  seen  but  one  locality 
in  the  State  where  the  Coal  Measures  appeared  to  have  been  disturbed 
after  their  deposition,  and  that  is  on  the  northern  borders  of  the  coal 
field  in  LaSalle  county,  where  they  have  been  elevated  as  much  as 
four  hundred  feet  by  the  uplift  which  brings  the  lower  Magnesian 
limestone  to  the  surface  between  Split-rock  and  Utica.  It  is  proper 
to  state,  however,  in  this  connection,  that  the  probable  age  of  the 
uplifts  along  the  southern  and  southwestern  boundaries  of  the  coal 
field  have  not  been  accurately  determined,  and  it  may  be  that  the 
Coal  Measures  have  been  locally  disturbed  by  these  influences  in 
that  part  of  the  State,  but  certainly  not  to  the  extent  of  breaking 
the  continuity  of  the  coal  strata  into  isolated  basins. 

The  following  section  of  the  Coal  Measures,  as  they  appear  in 
Northern  Illinois,  was  obtained  from  the  exposures  of  the  strata  in 
Peoria  county,  including,  also,  the  beds  entirely  below  the  surface, 
which  were  penetrated  at  the  boring  of  Voris  &  Co.,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river,  opposite  Peoria,  and  affords  a  satisfactory  idea  of  the 
series  in  this  part  of  the  State : 

Compact  gray  limestone 10  feet. 

Argillaceous  shale,  with  iron  nodules 50 

Coal,  No.  7 1          6  inches 

Fire  clay 2 

Shale 25 

Limestone 4 

Shaly  clay...  ..  0 


42  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Coal,  No.  6  ..................................................................  3  to  4  feet 

Shale  and  sandstone  ..........................................................  35 

Hard  sandstone  ...............................................................  22 

Bituminous  shale  ..............................................................  10 

Coal.  No.  5  ......................................................................  5 


pi 


Hard  clay  shale,  passing  into  limestone  ....................................  4 

Sandstone  and  shale  .........................................................  105 

Bituminous  shale  ............................................................  3 

Argillaceous  shale  ............................................................  15 

Coal,  No.3  (?)  ..................................................................  4 

Sandstone  and  shale  ........................................................  108 

Coal,  No.  1  ......................................................................  3 

Sandstone  and  shale...  ...122 


533  feet  2  inches 

This  section  gives  the  horizon  of  seven  of  the  principal  coal  seams, 
with  five  of  them  well  defined,  and  the  whole  included  in  a  total 
thickness  of  about  533  feet. 

By  referring  to  the  LaSalle  section,  given  in  a  subsequent  chapter, 
it  will  be  seen  that  at  that  locality  the  measures  have  been  still 
further  extended  upward,  with  a  corresponding  diminution  of  the 
lower  members,  so  that  coals  Nos.  2,  5  and  7  are  the  only  ones 
exposed,  in  the  various  borings  made  at  that  locality,  of  sufficient 
thickness  to  be  worked  with  profit,  and  these  are  found  near  the 
base  of  the  Coal  Measure  strata  as  they  are  developed  in  that 
portion  of  the  State. 

We  thus  find  that  the  unequal  distribution  of  workable  coal  beds 
in  different  portions  of  the  State,  even  where  the  coal  strata  them- 
selves appeared  to  be  equally  well  developed,  is  now  in  a  fair  way 
of  solution,  and  without  resorting  to  so  unreasonable  a  hypothesis  as 
that  of  "internal  convulsions,"  which  formed  "irregular  valleys  and 
basins,"  in  which  the  Coal  Measures  were  subsequently  deposited. 
The  detailed  county  surveys,  as  they  are  completed  in  various  por- 
tions of  the  State,  will  throw  additional  light  on  this  question,  and 
tend  to  its  final  and  satisfactory  solution. 

On  the  extreme  northeastern  border  of  the  coal  fields,  in  Grundy, 
Will  and  Livingston  counties,  the  measures  contain  a  single  seam 
of  coal,  averaging  about  three  feet  in  thickness,  which  is  overlaid  by 
a  heavy  bed  of  clay  shale  or  soapstone,  that  passes  upward  into  a 
sandy  shale  or  sandstone.  In  the  vicinity  of  Morris  this  seam  is 
about  thirty  feet  below  the  surface,  and  averages  about  thirty  inches 
in  thickness.  It  is  overlaid  there  by  about  twenty-five  feet  of  blue 
clay  shale,  the  lower  part  of  which  contains  several  species  of  ferns 
in  a  beautiful  state  of  preservation.  The  underclay  has  been  pene- 
trated to  the  depth  of  four  or  five  feet,  without  reaching  the  bottom. 
The  principal  openings  are  about  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  Morris. 


COAL   MEASURES.  43 

and  the  dip  (perhaps  local)  is  westerly  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty 
feet  to  the  mile,  which  carries  the  coal  sixty  feet  below  the  surface 
at  Morris.  The  quality  of  the  coal  afforded  by  this  seam  near  Mor- 
ris is  quite  variable,  even  where  the  openings  are  near  each  other. 
At  Mr.  WARNER'S  opening  the  coal  appeared  to  be  of  good  quality, 
and  quite  free  from  pyrites,  while  at  some  other  openings,  in  the 
same  neighborhood,  the  coal  was  so  highly  charged  with  sulphuret 
of  iron  as  to  seriously  injure  it  for  market. 

Four  miles  southeast  of  Morris,  on  Mazon  creek,  there  is  an  out- 
crop of  about  twenty  feet  of  sandy  shales  overlying  this  coal,  with 
nodules  of  argillaceous  iron  ore  that  contain  many  species  of  fossil 
ferns,  with  some  Crustacea,  and  a  few  fossil  shells.  This  locality  has 
also  afforded  a  single  species  of  Salamander  and  a  Caterpillar.  These 
nodules  have  likewise  been  found  to  contain  two  or  three  species  of 
fishes  and  insects,  and  some  interesting  Crustacea.  * 

Along  the  line  of  the  St.  Louis,  Alton  and  Chicago  Eailroad, 
below  Wilmington,  this  seam  has  been  reached  at  many  points  by 
boring,  and -its  proximity  to  Chicago  renders  this  locality  a  very 
important  one  to  the  coal  interests  of  that  city.  The  following  sec- 
tions of  the  borings  in  this  vicinity  were  carefully  compiled  by 
Mr.  ALVIN  MATSON,  and  were  kindly  furnished  for  this  report  by 
EICHARD  P.  MORGAN,  Jr.,  Esq.,  of  Wilmington: 

"The  borings  made  in  this  vicinity  are  as  follows,  commencing  four  miles  southwest  of 
D  wight.  Sec.  25,  T.  30,  E.  6: 

Drift 100  feet. 

Clay  shale  and  sandstone 100    " 

Bituminous  shale 0    "    6in. 

Shale  54    •• 

254  feet  6  in.— no  coal. 

Sec.  9,  T.  30,  R.  7—Dwight  Station. 

Drift 100  feet. 

Shaft 65    -. 

165  feet. 

At  this  depth  a  vein  of  artesian  water  was  struck,  flowing  through  a  tube  three  or  four 
feet  above  the  surface. 

S.  E.  qr.  of  Sec.  4,  T.  31,  E.  8— Gardner  Station. 

Drift 100  feet. 

Shale 65    •« 

Coal 3    •« 

168  feet. 


*The  scientific  world  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Joseph  Even,  of  Morris,  for  the  discovery  of  this 
interesting  locality. 


44  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

S.  E.  qr.  of  Sec.  26,  T.  32,  R.  8— Augustine's  Shaft. 

Drift  42  feet. 

Shale  .62    " 

Coal 2  ft.  10  in.  to  3    "    2  in. 

Five  feet  of  coarse  sandstone  immediately  under  the  coal,  about  the  character  of  ordi- 
nary sandstone  grit. 

2V.  W.  qr.  of  Sec.  25,  T.  32,  R.  8—Braceville  Station. 

Drift 40  feet. 

Shale  60    " 

Coal 2ft.  Sin.  to  3    "    4  in. 

West  part  of  Sec.  8,  T.  31,  R.  9. 

Drift 37  feet. 

Shale  30    " 

Coal   3    "     2in. 

On  the  east  side  of  this  section  no  coal  was  found. 

East  part  of  Sec.  30,  T.  32,  R.  9. 

Drift  '. 35  feet. 

Shale 43    " 

Coal  3    "     4in. 

Sec.  28,  T.  32,  R.  9. 

Drift  43  feet. 

Shale,  etc 67    "    —no  indication  of  coal. 

Middle  of  Sec.  17,  T.  32,  R.  9 — Stewart's  Grove  Station. 

Drift  43  feet. 

Shale  41    " 

Coal 3    "    2in. 

Near  this  point  the  east  line  of  the  coal  field  crosses  the  railroad,  running  nearly  due 
north  and  south. 

S.  E.  qr.  of  Sec.  13,  T.  32,  R.  8. 

Drift  50  feet. 

Shale  48    " 

Coal 3    "    Sin. 

S.  E.  of  Sec.  12,  T.  32,  R.  8. 

Drift  50  feet. 

Shale 40    " 

Coal  2    "    2in. 

West  part  of  Sec.  1,  T.  32,  R.  8. 

Drift  60  feet. 

Shale 50    " 

Coal   0    "    4in. 

Shale  1    " 

Coal 3    "    2  in. 

Middle  of  Sec.  31,  T.  33,  R.  9. 

Drift  25  feet. 

Shale  15    " 

Coal..,  ..   3    "    2in. 


COAL   MEASURES.  45 

On  the  N.  E.  part  of  the  same  Section. 

Drift 28  feet. 

Coal 3    " 

East  part  of  Sec.  32,  T.  33,  R.  9. 

Drift 18  feet. 

Coal... 3    " 

"In  addition  to  these  borings  and  shafts  there  are  the  Bobbins'  shaft,  on  the  N.  E.  qr.  of 
Sec.  5,  T.  32.  R.  9,  about  70  feet  deep,  and  the  Wilbur  shaft,  on  the  S.  W.  qr.  of  the  same  sec- 
tion, the  details  of  which  were  not  obtained. 

"Although  the  coal  runs  out,  working  east,  in  one  shaft  on  the  N.  E.  qr.  of  Sec.  5,  T.  32 
R.  9,  it.  again  appears,  3  ft.  2  in.  thick,  at  a  point  on  the  railroad  due  east;  but  that  is 
evidently  a  spur  or  small  deposit,  as  it  disappears  in  a  short  distance,  going  north  and 
south  on  the  railroad,  and  also  going  east  and  west. 

"The  borings  indicate  that  the  general  course  or  trend  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
coal  field,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  and  only  varying  from  it  by  small  indentations, 
is  due  north  and  south  from  the  middle  of  Sec.  8,  T.  31,  R.  9,  to  the  easterly  part  of  Sec.  8, 
T.  32,  R.  9,  and  thence  to  the  N.  E.  qr.  of  Sec.  5.  T.  32,  R.  9,  and  thence  northwesterly  to  the 
S.  W.  qr.  of  Sec.  30,"  T.  33,  R.  9.  The  coal  at  the  various  openings  made  in  this  vicinity 
averages  about  three  feet  in  thickness,  and  dips  slightly  to  the  west." 

The  specimen  of  this  coal,  sent  by  Mr.  MORGAN,  was  taken  from 
the  shaft  at  Braceville,  and  was  considered  to  be  not  better  than  a 
fair  average  of  the  coals  of  this  vicinity,  and  if  so,  it  is  one  of  the 
best  coals  yet  found  in  Northern  Illinois.  The  specimen  before  us  is 
very  bright,  hard  and  compact ;  fracture  partly  conchoidal ;  layers 
thick,  and  intersected  by  thin  vertical  plates  of  carbonate  of  lime, 
evidently  deposited  from  a  solution  in  cracks  or  joints.  The  general 
appearance  of  the  coal  is  very  much  like  that  from  DuQuoin,  with 
which  it  seems  to  be  identified  by  the  fossil  plants  that  are  found 
associated  with  it.  According  to  the  statements  of  the  engineers,  who 
have  used  this  coal,  on  the  St.  Louis,  Alton  and  Chicago  Kailroad, 
it  is  nearly  or  quite  equal,  for  locomotive  use,  to  that  obtained  from 
DuQuoin.  * 

Although  this  seam  averages  considerably  less,  in  thickness,  than 
those  wrought  at  LaSalle,  and  some  other  points  in  the  northern 
portion  of  the  State,  yet  its  proximity  to  the  Chicago  market,  the  ease 
and  cheapness  with  which  it  can  be  reached  by  shafts,  varying  in 
depth  from  thirty  to  two  hundred  feet,  and  the  superior  quality  of  the 
coal  it  affords,  renders  this  a  very  valuable  and  important  deposit. 
This  is  probably  the  nearest  point  to  Chicago  where  workable  coal 
can  be  found  on  any  direct  line  of  railroad  communication  with  that 
city.  At  all  the  sections,  but  one  given  of  the  foregoing  shafts  and 

*  Subsequent  investigations  have  shown  that  this  seam  is  the  equivalent  of  that  at 
Murphysboro,  in  Jackson  county,  or  No.  2  of  the  general  section  of  the  Illinois  Coal 
Measures. 


46  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS.   - 

borings  in  this  vicinity,  the  coal  appears  to  have  a  clay  bottom, 
which,  at  one  locality,  had  been  penetrated  to  the  depth  of  four  or 
five  feet,  but  no  examination  has  yet  been  made  to  determine  its 
fitness  for  the  potter's  use  or  the  manufacture  of  fire-brick.  A  fine 
article  of  common  stoneware  is  manufactured  at  Goose  Lake,  in 
Grundy  county,  from  a  clay  which  appears  to  belong  near  the  horizon 
of  the  under  clay  of  this  coal  seam. 

The  following  section,  compiled  in  part  from  surface  exposures, 
and  in  part  from  the  coal  shaft  at  Highland,  gives  a  general  idea 
of  the  lower  Coal  Measures,  as  they  are  developed  in  Madison  and 
St.  Clair  counties,  from  the  limestone  above  coal  No.  9,  of  the 
Illinois  section,  to  the  base  of  the  series: 

Dark  bluish-gray  and  brownish-gray  compact  limestone,  variable  in  thick- 
ness, but  usually  from 4  to    6  feet. 

Bituminous  shale 6  " 

Gray  shale,  with  fossil  shells  and  a  few  plants 11  " 

CoalNo.9 1  "    6  in. 

Gray  shale 21  "    6in. 

Calcareous  shale,  with  fossils 2  " 

Bituminous  shale,  with  6-inch  seam  of  coal 22  " 

Sandstone  and  shale,  with  two  or  three  bands  of  black  shale 103  "    • 

Limestone,  upper  bed,  at  Belleville .-...5  to    8  " 

CoalNo.7(?) 2  " 

Fireclay (?) 

Calcareous  shale  and  limestone 16  " 

Bituminous  shale,  sometimes  absent 1  to    3  " 

Coal,  Belleville  seam,  No,  6  (?) 5  to    7  " 

Fire  clay  and  nodular  limestone •. 5  " 

Shale 5  to  10  " 

Limestone,  sometimes  replaced  by  shale 3  to    4  " 

Coal,  No.  5(?) 2  to    4  " 

Fire  clay 1  to    3  " 

Clay  shale  and  sandy  shale 40  to  50  " 

Coal,  No.  1— (Alton  coal) 3to    4  " 

Fireclay 4  to    6  " 

In  the  vicinity  of  Alton,  and  through  several  of  the  more  northern 
pounties,  this  lower  seam  (No.  1)  immediately  overlies  the  lower 
Carboniferous  limestone,  though  at  one  or  two  localities  we  found  a 
local  development  of  conglomerate  associated  with  another  thin  seam 
of  coal  that,  we  have  no  doubt,  represents  one  of  the  conglomerate 
coals  of  the  more  southern  portions  of  the  State.  This  section, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  preceding  one  in  Northern  Illinois,  will 
give  a  correct  general  view  pf  the  distribution  of  the  coal  seams 
along  the  western  borders  of  the  Illinois  coal  field. 

The  coal  seams  are  usually  underlaid  by  a  bed  of  fire  clay,  which 
varies  in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  to  ten  or  twelve  feet.  This 
was  the  original  soil  and  sub-soil  on  which  the  vegetation  that 
formed  the  coal  grew,  and  it  is  often  penetrated  by  the  rootlets  of 


COAL   MEASURES.  47 

the  ancient  carboniferous  trees  whose  trunks  and  branches  have 
contributed  to  form  the  coal.  As  this  clay  is  often  quite  pure,  it  forms 
a  valuable  material  for  the  manufacture  of  fire  bricks  and  pottery, 
and  sometimes  is  fully  equal  in  value  to  the  coal  seam  which  it 
underlies.  The  best  fire-clays  contain  from  60  to  70  per  cent,  of 
silica,  from  25  t  to  35  per  cent,  of  allumina,  and  sometimes  1  to  2 
per  cent,  of  oxide  of  iron,  lime  or  magnesia,  with  from  5  to  10  per 
cent,  of  water.  They  are  usually  of  a  light  gray  or  nearly  white 
color,  though  they  are  frequently  more  or  less  stained  by  iron 
oxide. 

The  layer  of  rock  strata  immediately  above  the  coal  is  termed 
the  roof,  and  the  economy  and  safety  with  which  a  seam  of  coal 
may  be  worked  depends  very  much  upon  the  character  of  the  roof. 
A  regular  bedded  limestone  forms  the  best  roof,  though  a  hard 
bituminous  slate,  or  a  compact  sandstone,  is  nearly  as  good.  Clay 
shale  forms  the  poorest  .covering  for  a  coal  seam,  and  such  seams 
require  a  much  greater  outlay  for  cribbing-  and  supports,  in  order 
to  work  the  mine  safely,  than  those  which  have  a  more  compact 
and  solid  roof.  Sometimes  it  becomes  necessary,  in  working  a  seam 
of  this  kind,  to  leave  a  portion  of  the  top  coal  to  strengthen  the 
roof. 

The  Coal  Measures  afford  valuable  beds  of  building  stone,  especially 
limestone  and  freestone,  though  the  beds  of  limestone  are  seldom  of 
great  thickness.  The  State  House  quarry,  on  Sugar  Creek,  in  San- 
gamon  county,  from  which  the  material  for  the  old  State  Capitol  was 
obtained,  is  a  highly  fossiliferous  limestone,  from  five  to  ten  feet 
thick,  which  is  usually  divided  about  the  middle  by  a  seam  of  clay 
shale,  a  foot  or  two  in  thickness.  A  similar  rock,  holding  about 
the  same  stratigraphical  position,  occurs  at  LaSalle,  and  is  exten- 
sively used  as  a  building  stone.  The  specific  identity  of  the  fossils 
from  these  two  localities  would  seem  to  leave  but  little  doubt  of 
their  equivalent  position. 

The  analysis  of  the  State  House  rock  by  Mr.  PRATTEN  gave  the 
following  results : 

Carbonate  of  lime 68.73 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 5.07 

Carbonate  of  protoxide  of  iron 14.62 

Alumina 70 

Insoluble  in  ehlorohydric  acid 10.27 

W ater  and  loss 61 

Total 100.00 

According  to  the  views  already  expressed  in  regard  to  the  distri- 
bution of  the  coal  seams  in  Illinois,  these  limestones  overlie  the 


48  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

horizon  of  the  Anvil-rock  sandstone,  and  probably  represent  the 
same  geological  horizon  as  the  great  limestone  formation  of  Penn- 
sylvania, which  is  there  about  70  feet  thick,  on  an  average,  consisting 
of  limestones  of  variable  characters,  separated  by  shales  and  shaly 
sandstones.  The  most  characteristic  fossils  of  these  limestones  in 
Illinois  are  Productus  punctatus,  P.  Nebrascensis,  Pinna  pe-acuta, 
Petalodus  destructor,  Chomatodus  angularis,  and  Sandalodus  carbonariiis. 
In  addition  to  these,  the  quarries  on  Sugar  Creek,  in  Sangamon 
county,  afford  fine  specimens  of  Syringopora  multattenuata. 

In  Scott  and  Greene  counties  the  sandstones  which  intervene 
between  coal  seams  No.  1  and  No.  2,  occur  in  massy  beds, 
and,  judging  from  the  surface  exposures,  would  make  a  reliable 
building  stone. 

There  are  many  other  points  in  the  State  where  the  Coal  Measures 
afford  good  building  stone,  which  will  be  described  more  fully  in  the 
detailed  report  on  the  several  counties  than  they  could  be  here. 

For  a  summary  view  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  coal  has 
been  formed,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  vegetable  substances 
which  enter  into  its  formation  have  accumulated,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  report  of  the  writer,  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

Bands  of  carbonate  of  iron  are  common  in  the  Coal  Measures, 
some  of  which  promise  to  become  valuable  for  the  production  of 
metallic  iron.  Iron,  in  the  form  of  a  sulphuret,  is  also  almost 
universally  distributed  through  the  coal  itself,  either  as  crystals 
or  as  nodules,  often  of  many  pounds  weight.  This  mineral  is 
utterly  worthless  for  all  purposes  except  for  the  manufacture  of 
vitriol  (sulphuric  acid)  and  copperas  (sulphate  of  iron),  and  its 
general  dissemination  through  a  coal  seam  renders  the  coal  itself 
almost  valueless.  It  is  the  great  bane  of  our  western  coals,  render- 
ing them  often  almost  useless  for  working  iron,  until  the  sulphur  is 
expelled  by  coking,  which  is  sometimes  rather  difficult  to  do  suc- 
cessfully. Where  this  sulphuret  occurs  in  balls  or  masses  of  any 
considerable  size,  it  should  be  carefully  separated  from  the  coal  at 
the  mouth  of  the  shaft  or  in  the  adit ;  but  where  it  is  disseminated 
through  the  coal  in  thin  scales,  or  in  minute  crystals,  it  can  only 
be  expelled  by  the  process  of  coking.  Many  coals  are  made  to 
retain  a  fair  reputation  by  being  carefully  freed  from  this  material 
before  the  coal  is  sent  to  market.  Sometimes  it  is  confined  to  a 
particular  portion  of  the  seam ;  and  where  this  is  the  case,  the 
portion  containing  the  pyrites  should  be  mined  and  sold  by  itself, 
or,  if  worthless,  thrown  aside.  It  is  usually  of  a  bright  yellow  or 


COAL   MEASUBES.  49 

silver-white  color;  effloresces,  on  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  gener- 
ating thereby  heat  that  sometimes  results  in  spontaneous  combus- 
tion, and  ignites  the  bituminous  shales  or  the  coals  themselves. 
There  is  also  another  substance  found  in  our  coals,  traversing  the 
layers  in  very  thin  plates  of  a  white  or  glassy  transparency.  This 
is  lime,  either  in  the  form  of  a  carbonate  or  sulphate,  most  fre- 
quently the  former,  and  does  not  affect  injuriously  the  quality  of 
the  coal. 

The  carbonate  of  iron  is  a  dull,  earthy-looking  ore,  of  a  brown 
color,  often  occurring  in  nodules  or  concretions,  disseminated  through 
the  shales  of  the  Coal  Measures  or  in  regular  beds  or  seams,  like  the 
coal  itself.  These  ores  are  not  as  rich  in  metallic  iron  as  those 
usually  found  in  the  metamorphic  rocks,  but  they  are  more  easily 
smelted,  and  make  a  softer  and  more  malleable  iron.  An  ore  of  this 
kind,  that  yields  from  30  to  40  per  cent,  of  protoxide  of  iron,  is 
valuable  if  found  in  sufficient  quantity  to  sustain  a  furnace. 

Black  slates  are  common  in  the  Coal  Measures,  and  as  they  were 
formed  under  conditions  very  analogous  to  those  which  formed  the 
coal  seams,  the  latter  are  sometimes  replaced  by  or  pass  into  the 
former.  The  conditions  necessary  to  the  formation  of  a  black  slate 
only  differ  from  those  forming  a  coal  seam  in  the  preponderance  of 
earthy  material  added  to  the  carbonaceous  deposits.  Or,  in  other 
words,  if  the  conditions  were  so  changed  at  any  given  locality, 
during  the  accumulation  of  the  vegetable  matter  necessary  to  form 
a  coal  seam,  that  a  superabundance  of  mud  was  introduced,  a  black 
slate  would  be  the  result.  Some  of  these  slates  are  highly  charged 
with  bituminous  matter,  and  when  thrown  on  a  brisk  fire,  burn 
readily  until  this  is  consumed,  when  combustion  ceases,  and  the 
residue  resembles  a  pile  of  burnt  stones.  It  may  easily  be  distin- 
quished  from  coal  by  its  thin,  slaty  cleavage,  whereby  it  readily 
separates  into  thin  plates.  Some  of  our  principal  coal  seams  are 
covered  with  a  roof  of  this  material,  showing  a  gradual  passage 
from  the  coal  to  the  slate,  and  evidencing  the  analogous  conditions 
under  which  they  were  both  formed.  Sometimes  the  coal  seam  is 
separated  into  several  distinct  beds  by  thin  bands  of  black  slate. 

Although  black  slates  are  almost  always  found  in  connection  with 
the  coal  seams,  and  are  more  abundant  in  the  Coal  Measures  than 
elsewhere,  they  are  not  confined  to  any  particular  geological  horizon, 
but  are  met  with  in  all  the  various  systems  of  stratified  rocks.  The 
coal  miner,  being  unacquainted  with  the  science  of  geology,  and 
relying  entirely  on  the  accuracy  of  his  own  observations,  decides  at 

once  that  wherever  a  black  slate  is  found,  there  you  may  reasonably 
— 4 


50  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

expect  to  find  coal,  as  well ;  and  hence  many  persons  are  induced  to 
spend  both  time  and  money  in  a  vain  search  for  coal,  in  strata  many 
hundreds  of  feet  below  the  horizon  of  any  known  coal  seam:  and 
they  do  this  on  the  assurance  of  "old  coal  miners,"  who  assume  to 
be  fully  competent  to  determine  where  coal  is  to  be  found.  There 
is  scarcely  an  outcrop  of  black  slate  or  bituminous  shale  in  this 
State,  either  in  the  lower  Carboniferous,  Devonian  or  Silurian  rocks, 
where  such  explorations  for  coal  have  not  been  prosecuted,  and  almost 
invariably  by  the  advice  of  those  whose  practical  acquaintance  with 
coal  mining  is  supposed  to  render  their  opinions  reliable.  But  the 
merest  tyro  in  geology,  if  he  could  have  seen  a  few  fossils  from  the 
slates  themselves,  or  the  rocks  connected  with  them,  would  have 
decided  at  once,  and  correctly,  that  they  did  not  belong  to  the  Coal 
Measures,  and  therefore  were  not  indicative  of  the  existence  of  work- 
able coal  seams.  Fortunes  have,  in  this  way,  been  squandered  in 
the  fruitless  search  for  coal  in  regions  where  it  does  not  exist,  and 
where  a  few  hours'  labor  of  a  competent  person  would  have  made 
the  fallacy  of  the  search  apparent. 

Cannel  coal  is  found  in  limited  quantities,  in  various  portions  of 
the  State,  and  most  commonly  forming  a  portion  of  a  seam  of  or- 
dinary bituminous  coal.  It  differs  from  the  common  coals  in  its 
even,  compact  structure  and  conchoidal  fracture,  duller  lustre  and 
greater  richness  in  bituminous  matter.  It  is  lighter  than  a  black 
slate,  does  not  usually  split  into  thin  plates,  and  will  be  entirely 
consumed  when  once  ignited,  if  pure.  A  splinter  of  it  will  take  fire 
and  burn  like  a  candle  until  it  is  entirely  consumed,  and  hence  its 
original  name  "candle  coal,"  which  was  afterwards  corrupted  to  cannel 
coal.  It  is  supposed  to  have  resulted  from  the  highly  resinous  char- 
acter of  the  vegetable  substances  of  which  it  is  formed,  and  hence 
if,  during  the  accumulation  of  the  vegetable  matter  necessary  to  the 
formation  of  a  coal  seam,  the  conditions  were  favorable  for  the  pro- 
duction of  highly  resinous  woods  in  abundance,  a  cannel  coal,  forming 
either  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  seam,  would  be  the  result.  The 
passage  from  a  cannel  coal  to  a  bituminous  slate  is  also  a  very  gradual 
one ;  and,  indeed,  all  these  varieties  of  bituminous  material  shade 
into  each  other  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  their  common 
origin. 

Anthracite  is  a  metamorphic  coal,  originally  formed  as  a  bituminous 
coal,  from  which  the  volatile  matters  have  been,  to  a  great  extent, 
expelled  by  metamorphic  agencies.  It  belongs  to  the  same  geological 
period  as  the  common  coals,  and  the  anthracite  beds  of  Pennsylvania 
are  the  altered  representatives  of  the  bituminous  seams  of  the  same 


COAL   MEASUEES.  51 

State.  The  anthracite  character  seems  to  be  confined  to  those  regions 
where  the  strata  have  been  more  or  less  disturbed,  and  it  is  said 
that  in  Wales  the  same  bed  may  be  traced  from  a  bituminous  to  a 
true  anthracite  coal,  and  all  the  gradations  of  the  change  can  be 
distinctly  seen.  No  anthracite  coal  has  yet  been  found  in  Illinois. 

The  character  of  a  coal  bed,  and  its  comparative  value  for  the 
production  of  coal,  is  a  point  easily  determined  by  any  one  at  all 
conversant  with  the  subject.  Where  the  coal  appears  at  the  surface 
by  its  natural  outcrop,  it  may  be  readily  examined  by  drifting  for  a 
few  feet  from  the  surface  into  the  seam,  so  as  to  see  the  coal  in  its 
normal  condition,  where  it  has  not  been  subject  to  the  influences  of 
surface  exposure.  A  drift  of  ten  feet  from  the  surface  will  generally 
be  sufficient  to  enable  the  explorer  to  judge  of  the  quality  and  value 
of  the  coal  which  the  seam  contains,  though,  as  a  seam  of  coal, 
like  any  other  bed  of  rocks,  is  subject  to  considerable  variations 
in  the  thickness  of  the  strata,  it  would  be  necessary  to  examine 
the  seam  at  several  points  along  its  outcrop,  in  order  to  determine 
its  average  thickness,  and  the  amount  of  coal  it  would  yield  to  a 
given  surface. 

The  usual  mining  estimate  for  the  productive  capacity  of  a  coal 
seam,  gives  one  million  tons  of  coal  to  the  square  mile,  for  every 
foot  in  thickness  that  the  seam  will  measure ;  so  that  a  seam  three 
feet  thick  would  be  estimated  to  yield  three  million  tons  of  coal  to 
every  square  mile  or  section  of  land  under  which  it  extends.  Now, 
if  we  take  a  single  county,  like  Peoria,  which  has  at  least  four  seams, 
underlying  nearly  the  whole  of  its  surface,  varying  from  three  to  five 
feet  in  thickness,  the  amount  of  coal  that  may  be  obtained  from  that 
county  alone  is  simply  enormous,  and  would  supply  the  entire 
State  for  many  years  to  come.  If  we  estimate  the  value  of  this  coal, 
in  the  mine,  at  no  more  than  25  cents  per  ton,  its  aggregate  value 
would  far  exceed  the  present  estimate  of  the  entire  real  and  personal 
property  of  that  county.  But  it  will  perhaps  be  said  that  the  coal, 
in  the  mine,  has  little  or  no  value,  because  the  coal  is  worth  but 
little  more  than  the  actual  cost  of  mining,  after  paying  a  fair  interest 
on  the  outlay  of  capital  required  for  mining  operations.  This  may 
be  true  at  the  present  moment,  but  the  time  will  surely  come  when 
the  mining  privilege,  on  all  our  best  coal  lands  that  are  contiguous 
to  railroad  or  river  facilities  for  transportation,  will  be  worth  and 
readily  command  far  more  than  the  present  estimated  value  of  these 
lands  in  fee  simple.  In  the  present  undeveloped  condition  of  our 
manufacturing  interests,  the  intrinsic  value  of  our  immense  deposits 
of  mineral  fuel  is  but  poorly  understood  or  appreciated. 


52  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

In  searching  for  coal,  the  first  and  all  important  point  is  to 
ascertain,  from  some  competent  authority,  that  the  region  under 
examination  is  within  the  limits  of  the  coal  field,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  the  rocks  which  outcrop  in  the  vicinity  where  the 
examinations  are  to  be  made,  actually  belong  to  the  Coal  Measures. 
This  can  only  be  determined  by  a  competent  geologist.  Having 
determined  this  point,  then  the  outcrop  of  the  coal  seams  may  be 
looked  for  along  the  slopes  of  the  hills  and  in  the  valleys  of  the 
streams,  where  the  coal,  if  above  the  surface,  will  probably  be 
exposed  by  the  erosion  of  the  valleys.  The  surface  indications  of 
the  presence  and  outcrop  of  a  coal  seam  is  a  streak  of  black  dirt 
or  smut,  which  will  appear  along  the  hill  sides,  generally  at  a  level 
a  little  below  the  coal,  and  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  the 
coal  by  the  surface  agencies  to  which  it  has  been  exposed.  Where 
the  coal  strata  lie  in  a  nearly  horizontal  position,  as  they  do  gen- 
erally in  the  Illinois  coal  field,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  tracing  the 
coal  from  one  hill  to  another,  even  when  the  outcrop  is  obscured 
by  the  sliding  of  the  superincumbent  strata ;  and  a  seam  appearing 
on  one  side  of  a  valley  will  usually  be  found  by  drifting  at  about 
the  same  level  into  the  opposite  hill.  If  it  should  be  found  that 
the  dip  or  inclination  of  the  coal  seam  is  regular  and  persistent  in 
one  direction,  and  not  undulating,  as  is  often  the  case,  then  the 
direction  and  amount  of  dip  should  be  carefully  noted  and  taken 
into  the  account  in  prosecuting  the  search  for  other  outcrops  of  the 
seam. 

If  no  coal  seam  appears  upon  the  surface,  and  it  is  desirable  to 
ascertain  the  amount  of  coal  underlying  the  surface  at  a  particular 
point,  this  should  be  first  determined  by  boring;  and  if  the  coal  is 
found  of  suitable  thickness,  then  a  shaft  may  be  sunk  and  the  coal 
mined  in  the  usual  way.  But  in  boring  for  coal  or  other  mineral 
deposits,  it  is  a  matter  of  the  first  importance  that  the  work  should 
be  under  the  charge  of  a  competent  and  reliable  man — otherwise 
no  reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  reported  thickness  or  value  of  any 
of  the  deposits  passed  through  with  the  drill.  Specimens  of  the 
material,  at  every  change  in  the  character  of  the  strata,  should  be 
carefully  washed  and  preserved,  and  a  record  kept  of  the  thickness 
of  the  strata,  and  the  depth  below  the  surface  at  which  it  was 
found.  Serious  losses  must  generally  be  the  result  in  cases  where 
unskillful  or  dishonest  persons  are  placed  in  charge  of  a  work  of 
this  kind. 

Every  coal  seam  possesses  some  well  marked  characteristics  that 
will  enable  even  a  good  practical  miner,  who  will  exercise  the 


COAL   MEASUEES.  53 

ordinary  powers  of  observation,  to  identify  it  in  its  various  outcrops, 
at  least  within  limited  areas.  Then,  again,  they  are  enclosed 
between  strata  of  various  kinds,  and  the  character  of  the  roof  and 
the  thickness  and  general  aspect  of  the  underclay,  if  carefully  noted, 
will  greatly  aid  in  the  identification  of  the  coal  seams  at  different 
points.  But  these  stratigraphical  and  lithological  features  are  only 
applicable  to  outcrops  occurring  over  comparatively  limited  areas; 
and  when  we  come  to  the  identification  of  beds  at  localities  hundreds 
of  miles  apart,  these  characters  fail  us,  and  we  are  forced  to  fall 
back  upon  the  development  of  animal  and  vegetable  life,  as  illus- 
trated in  the  department  of  paleontology — or,  in  other  words,  to 
the  fossil  plants  and  animals  that  are  found  embedded  in  the  rocks 
connected  with  the  coal  seams  —  as  the  only  means  for  determining 
the  identity  of  coal  beds  outcropping  at  remote  localities.  From 
what  has  already  been  said  in  relation  tc  the  formation  of  the  dif- 
ferent varieties  of  coal,  the  reader  will  understand  how  a  seam  may 
afford  common  bituminous  coal  at  one  locality,  and  both  common 
bituminous  and  cannel  coal  at  another,  and  black  slate  at  a  third, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  its  true  horizon  and  identity  can  be  fully 
determined  by  the  general  character  of  the  strata  between  which  it 
is  inclosed,  and  their  included  fossils. 

By  referring  to  the  general  section  introduced  at  the  commence- 
ment of  this  chapter,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Coal  Measures  overlie 
all  the  great  limestone  formations  of  the  State ;  and  hence,  in  bor- 
ing for  coal,  if  specimens  of  the  material  are  carefully  preserved, 
they  will  show,  to  the  practiced  eye  of  the  geologist,  exactly  at  what 
point  these  rocks  are  reached  by  the  drill,  and  where  the  search  for 
coal  should  end.  In  the  Central  and  Southern  portions  of  this  State 
the  measures  rest  upon  some  member  of  the  lower  Carboniferous 
limestone  series,  while  in  the  Northern  part  of  the  coal  field  they 
rest  upon  Devonian  or  Silurian  strata;  but  these  are  all  quite 
unlike  the  rocks  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  would  not  be  confounded 
with  them  by  any  one  acquainted  with  their  lithological  characters. 

It  is  now  generally  admitted  and  believed  that  coal  is  the  car- 
bonized residuum  of  vegetable  matter  that  grew  upon  a  low,  swampy 
surface,  during  the  Coal  Measure  epoch;  and  being  subsequently 
submerged  and  covered  by  deposits  of  sand  and  clay,  the  vegetable 
accumulations  underwent  the  necessary  chemical  change  and  were 
transformed  into  coal,  while  above  the  coal,  sandstones,  shales  and 
limestones  were  slowly  accumulating.  Subsequently  these  marine 
formations  were  raised  above  the  ocean's  level,  and  another  growth 
of  vegetable  matter  accumulated  to  form  another  bed  of  coal;  and 


54  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

this  process  must  have  been  repeated  as  often  as  successive  seams 
of  coal  and  the  intervening  marine  deposits  were  formed. 

The  occurrence  of  numerous  beds  of  calcareous  shales  and  lime- 
stones, filled  with  the  remains  of  marine  animals,  and  extending 
through  the  whole  thickness  of  the  Coal  Measure  strata  of  Illinois 
and  other  Western  States,  is  a  very  interesting  feature  in  the 
structure  of  our  coal  field;  and  there  is  probably  not  one  of  our 
principal  coal  seams  that  has  not,  at  some  locality  in  the  State,  a 
bed  of  calcareous  -shale  or  a  limestone  associated  with  it  containing 
the  fossilized  remains  of  marine  animals,  in  such  a  perfect  condi- 
tion as  to  leave  no  doubt  on  the  mind  of  a  careful  observer  that 
they  lived  on  the  spot  where  their  remains  are  now  found  embedded. 
Crustacea,  mollusca,  crinoidea,  corals  and  bryozoa,  with  the  teeth 
and  spines  of  cartilaginous  fishes,  are  among  the  fossils  that  abound 
in  these  calcareous  deposits  throughout  the  Coal  Measures  of  the 
Western  States.  These  fossiliferous  strata  occur  between  the  differ- 
ent beds  of  coal,  so  as  to  show  that  if  the  coal  was  formed  in  fresh 
water  marshes,  at  the  sea  level,  as  is  generally  supposed,  there 
must  have  been  an  elevation  and  subsidence  for  every  bed  and  seam 
of  coal,  as  the  intervening  marine  beds  attest  the  presence  of  the 
sea,  at  the  time  of  their  deposition,  as  clearly  as  the  marine  types 
in  any  of  our  paleozoic  rocks  prove  them  to  have  been  formed  by 
marine  agencies. 

Coal  is  simply  carbon  combined  with  hydrogen,  which  combina- 
tion gives  it  its  bituminous  character,  a  small  per  cent,  of  oxygen, 
and  more  or  less  of  earthy  admixtures,  according  to  the  purity  or 
impurity  of  the  coal.  DANA  says,  in  his  "Manuel  of  Geology,"  page 
361 :  "Where  vegetation  decomposes  in  the  open  air,  all  the  carbon 
enters  into  gaseous  combinations  and  is  lost  in  the  atmosphere, 
only  traces  remaining  to  give  a  dark  color  to  the  soil.  Hence 
forests  may,  with  each  autumn,  drop  tons  of  solid  material  to  the 
ground,  age  after  age,  and  yet  little  remain  behind  to  indicate  the 
existence  of  that  vegetation;  but  where  the  bed  of  leaves  and  other 
relics  of  the  plants  is  covered  by  water,  so  that  the  air  is  mostly 
excluded,  the  decomposition  is  less  complete — precisely  as  when 
wood  is  charred  in  a  half  smothered  fire,  a  part  of  the  carbon 
remains  behind  and  forms  coal." 

As  we  have  before  remarked,  the  coal  seams  are  usually  under- 
laid by  a  bed  of  fire  clay,  which  formed  the  soil  for  the  growth  of 
the  carboniferous  vegetation  that  grew,  perhaps,  under  conditions 
analogous  to  those  observed  in  the  peat  bogs  of  the  present  day. 
But  in  the  Illinois  coal  field  we  find  localities  where  the  imderclays 


COAL   MEASUKES.  55 

are  wanting,  and  the  coal  rests  directly  upon  shales,  sandstone  or 
limestone,  as  the  case  may  be.  This  seems  to  indicate  that  the 
vegetable  matter  which  forms  the  coal  did  not,  in  every  case, 
necessarily  grow  immediately  on  the  spot,  but  was  transported 
from  some  adjacent  locality,  to  where  it  was  finally  buried  and 
transformed  into  coal. 

Coke  is  the  solid  portion  of  the  coal,  the  carbon  and  the  ash 
after  the  volatile  matters  are  driven  off  by  heat.  Coal  is  not  less- 
ened materially  in  bulk  by  coking,  but  decreases  in  weight  about 
one-half,  according  to  the  proportion  of  carbon  and  earthy  matter 
which  it  contained.  LESLEY,  in  his  "Manual  of  Coal,"  gives  the 
following  remarks  on  coke,  and  the  usual  method  of  obtaining  it: 

"The  bulk  of  coke  varies  with  the  method  of  obtaining  it.  A 
quick  fire,  under  heavy  pressure,  makes  a  hard,  firm,  heavy  coke, 
silvery-white,  and  ringing  when  struck.  A  slow,  smouldering  fire 
makes  a  light,  spongy  coke.  By  firing  slowly  at  first,  with  a  moist 
heat,  and  afterwards,  when  the  sulphur  is .  gone,  by  firing  up  rapidly, 
both  purity  and  weight  are  obtained.  OVERMAN  recommends  coking 
in  rows  (p.  121)  or  heaps  a  hundred  feet  long,  seven  or  eight  wide, 
and  three  feet  high,  in  a  level  yard,  surrounded  by  a  ditch  always 
full  of  water.  Coarse  brick  chimneys,  with  holes,  are  built  along 
the  center  of  the  row,  coarse  coal  piled  around  them,  draft  channels 
left  along  the  ground,  and  the  whole  covered  with  coke  dust.  In  a 
few  hours  the  whole  will  be  ignited,  and  a  few  air-holes  made  in 
the  coverings  will  allow  the  sulphurous  acid  and  other  fumes  to 
escape.  Tapered  posts,  stuck  in  the  ground  every  seven  or  eight 
feet,  and  withdrawn  after  the  coarse  coal  has  been  piled  around 
them,  will  serve  instead  of  chimneys.  The  firing  takes  place  when 
the  row  is — say  twenty  feet  long.  Before  the  row  is  finished  and 
fired  at  the  far  end,  the  coke  may  be  drawn  away  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  the  process  be  perpetual.  When  the  white  fumes  of 
corbureted  hydrogen  cease,  the  fire  must  be  closely  covered  up  and 
the  mass  left  to  cool.  In  coking  high  bituminous  coals,  the  fire 
should  spread  through  the  whole  mass  before  the  covering  is  put  on ; 
otherwise  the  swelling  of  the  softened  lumps  will  coke  out  the  fire. 
For  the  same  reason,  the  more  bituminous  the  coal  the  larger 
should  be  the  first  pieces  laid  down,  and  care  should  be  taken  to 
stand  them  on  their  ends. 

"The  principal  object  of  coking  is  to  free  the  coal  from  sulphur 
for  smelting  iron — most  coals  being  sulphurous,  and  sulphur  ruining 
the  malleability  and  tenacity  of  the  iron.  The  object  is  effected  by 
piling  the  coal  on  moist  earth,  or  filling  it  into  ovens  with  a  sand 


56  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

floor,  kept  moist,  and  firing  it  slowly,  so  that  the  sulphur  may 
escape  first.  If  a  dry  heat  be  applied  at  once  to  the  mass,  the 
water,  hydrogen  and  bituminous  compounds  will  be  driven  off  first, 
leaving  the  sulphur  indissolubly  combined  with  the  carbon.  Such 
coke,  when  used  in  the  furnace,  is  as  bad  for  the  iron  as  the 
sulphurus  coal  of  which  it  was  made.  The  sprinkling  of  water  upon 
red-hot  coke  which  has  not  lost  all  its  sulphur,  will  prove  its  exist- 
ence by  the  smell  of  rotten  eggs,  but  will  not  rectify  the  coke." 

Another  product  of  coal  is  the  common  gas,  used  for  lighting  the 
streets  and  dwellings  of  our  cities.  It  is  a  combination  of  carbon 
and  hydrogen,  producing  what  is  technically  known  as  carbureted 
hydrogen  gas,  and  is  sometimes  generated  spontaneously  in  the  coal 
measure  rocks,  as  well  as  in  the  bituminous  shales  of  the  older 
formations,  and  is  frequently  met  with  in  shafts  or  wells  that  pene- 
trate to  a  considerable  depth  below  the  surface  in  the  coal  and  oil 
producing  regions.  It  is  manufactured  from  bituminous  and  cannel 
coals  by  distillation,  and  those  coals  most  free  from  sulphur  and 
rich  in  bituminous  matters  are  the  most  desirable  for  the  produc- 
tion of  gas. 

Coal  oil,  rock  oil,  naptha  or  petroleum  are  also  the  products  of  coal 
and  carbonaceous  shale,  from  which  they  are  distilled  in  the  great 
laboratory  of  nature  by  processes  somewhat  analogous  to  those  adopted 
by  the  chemist.  When  they  are  distilled  directly  from  the  coal  by 
artificial  means,  the  cannel  coals  and  the  highly  bituminous  slates 
are  used  in  preference  to  the  common  bituminous  coal,  because 
they  are  the  richest  in  these  liquid  hydro-carbons.  Since  the  dis- 
covery of  the  rich  deposits  of  these  substances  in  the  oil  regions  of 
Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  the  manufacture  of  coal  oil  by 
artificial  means  has  generally  been  abandoned,  and  these  rich  oil- 
bearing  shales  must  remain  comparatively  valueless,  until  the  great 
natural  storehouse  of  these  oleaginous  products  shall  become 
exhausted. 

Indications  of  the  presence  of  these  oils  may  frequently  be  seen 
where  carbonaceous  deposits  abound,  but  it  is  only  where  the  beds 
are  of  considerable  thickness,  and  the  conditions  necessary  for  the 
distillation  and  retention  of  the  oils  were  favorable,  that  they  exist 
in  paying  quantities.  There  appears  to  be  three  principal  horizons 
in  the  West  from  which  oil  is  obtained  in  considerable  quantities, 
one  of  which  is  in  strata  of  Silurian  age,  another  in  the  Devonian, 
and  a  third  in  the  Conglomerate  at  the  base  of  the  Coal  Measures. 
The  oil  region  of  Tennessee  is  in  the  former,  that  of  Eastern  Ohio, 
Western  Pennsylvania  and  Canada  West  is  reported  to  be  in  the 


COAL   MEASURES.  57 

Devonian  horizon,  and  that  of  Eastern  Kentucky,  according  to  the 
observations  of  Prof.  J.  P.  LESLEY,  is  in  the  Conglomerate ;  though, 
according  to  his  report,  the  oil  is  not  there  confined  to  the  sand- 
stone, but  is  also  obtained  from  wells  sunk  into  the  lower  Carbon- 
iferous limestones  below.  These  limestones  separate  the  two  upper 
oil  horizons  above  named,  and  Prof.  LESLEY  suggests  that  part  of 
the  oil  afforded  by  the  wells  in  the  limestone  may  have  come  up 
from  the  lower  or  Devonian  horizon.  Petroleum  is  also  found,  in 
some  parts  of  the  world,  in  more  modern  formations,  even  to  the 
Tertiary;  but  not  yet,  in  the  United  States,  east  of  the  Eocky 
Mountains. 

Petroleum  varies  greatly,  in  color  and  appearance,  at  different 
localities.  It  is  sometimes  a  black  viscid  substance,  resembling  tar, 
and  again  appears  as  a  transparent  amber-colored  fluid,  almost  as 
limpid  as  water.  Where  the  volatile  matters  have  evaporated,  the 
residue  is  a  hard,  black,  solid  substance,  called  Asphaltum.  Petro- 
leum results  from  carbonaceous  material,  either  animal  or  vegetable, 
and  is  simply  a  combination  of  hydrogen  and  carbon.  It  is  in  a 
gaseous  form,  when  first  distilled  from  the  carbonaceous  material 
from  which  it  is  derived,  and  as  this  gas  ascends  into  a  higher  stratum, 
where  the  temperature  is  considerably  lower  than  that  necessary  for 
its  evaporation,  it  becomes  condensed  into  the  liquid  condition. 
Much  of  this  gas  may  escape  to  the  surface  and  be  lost  in  the 
atmosphere,  and  this  will  account,  in  part,  for  the  absence  of  these 
oils  at  many  localities  in  which  they  might  be  expected  to  exist. 
If  there  were  no  impervious  strata  between  the  carbonaceous  beds 
from  which  the  gas  was  first  liberated  and  the  surface,  it  would 
probably,  in  most  cases,  escape  and  leave  no  oil.  The  sandstones 
which  overlie  the  oil-producing  strata  act  as  a  sponge  in  absorbing 
the  oil  and  preserving  it,  as  in  a  natural  reservoir,  for  the  use  of 
man;  and  if  these  are  overlaid  by  impervious  strata,  we  have  the 
most  favorable  conditions  for  the  accumulation  of  valuable  oil 
deposits.  The  process  of  distillation  is,  no  doubt,  still  going  on 
in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  will  only  cease  from  the  exhaustion 
of  the  carbonaceous  deposits  from  which  the  oil  is  derived. 

Although  the  productive  oil  wells  in  this  country  are  confined  to 
the  Silurian,  Devonian  and  Carboniferous  systems,  as  we  have 
already  remarked,  nevertheless  petroleum  is  found  in  the  rocks  of 
all  ages.  The  deposits  of  California  and  the  West  Indies  are  in  the 
Tertiary  formation,  and  the  oil  is  probably  derived  from  the  lignites, 
from  which  they  have  been  distilled  by  the  internal  heat  of  the 
earth,  at  a  comparatively  modern  period.  In  the  vicinity  of  Chicago 


58  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  Niagara  limestone  is  locally  completely  saturated  with  oil,  but 
owing  to  the  thinness  of  the  bituminous  portion  of  the  rock,  it  is 
not  probable  the  oil  can  be  obtained  from  it  in  paying  quantities, 
by  boring. 

Oil  has  been  found  in  two  or  three  counties  in  the  southeastern 
portion  of  the  State,  in  small  quantities,  and  it  is  by  no  means 
improbable  that  paying  wells  may  hereafter  be  obtained  in  that 
portion  of  the  State.  The  counties  of  Gallatin  and  Saline,  and 
those  north  of  them  and  lying  in  the  valley  of  the  Wabash  river, 
will,  in  my  opinion,  be  most  likely  to  afford  productive  oil  wells. 
My  reasons  for  this  conclusion  are  the  following:  In  this  portion 
of  the  State  the  Coal  Measures  have  their  greatest  development, 
and  the  conglomerate  sandstone,  which  constitutes  the  best  oil 
horizon  in  Kentucky,  attains  its  maximum  thickness  of  probably  not 
less  than  three  hundred  feet.  Again,  the  Devonian  sandstones  and 
shales,  which  are  comparatively  thin  on  the  western  borders  of  the 
coal  field,  thicken  rapidly  in  an  easterly  direction,  and  come  up 
from  beneath  the  coal  field  in  Indiana  considerably  thicker  than 
they  average  in  Western  Illinois.  Hence  we  find,  in  this  portion  of 
the  State,  conditions  more  nearly  analogous  to  those  which  prevail 
in  the  oil-producing  regions  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  than  in  any 
other;  and  experiments  carefully  conducted  may  lead  to  valuable 
results  in  this  portion  of  the  State.  It  is  especially  desirable  that 
wherever  there  are  decided  surface  indications  of  oil,  appearing  as 
oil  or  gas  springs,  that  the  proper  steps  should  be  taken,  in  an 
economical  way,  to  test,  by  a  boring,  the  value  of  the  oil  deposits 
beneath  the  surface. 

But  at  a  time  like  the  present,  (1866,)  when  the  people  are  laboring 
under  an  undue  excitement  in  favor  of  speculations  of  this  kind,  it 
may  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  that  very  many  of  the  experiments  now 
undertaken  are  entirely  unwarranted  from  any  reliable  surface  indi- 
cations, and  can  only  end  in  disappointment  and  pecuniary  loss  to 
those  who  are  reckless  enough  to  embark  in  such  wild  speculations. 

In  determining  the  question  whether  certain  beds  that  resemble 
the  productive  Coal  Measures  are  really  identical  with  them,  the 
most  reliable  evidence  is  to  be  found  in  the  study  of  the  fossil 
animals  and  plants  that  are  found  embedded  in  the  strata ;  and  as 
every  geological  formation  represents  a  distinct  and  definite  period 
in  the  earth's  history,  it  is  necessarily  characterized  by  a  peculiar 
group  of  organic  forms,  quite  unlike  those  of  any  preceding  or  sub- 
sequent period.  The  animal  life  of  the  coal  period  was  represented 
by  the  Mollusca,  the  Eadiata,  the  Articulata,  (Crustacea,  Insects 


COAL   MEASURES.  59 

and  Myriopoda,)  and  the  Vertebrata,  the  latter  being  only  repre- 
sented by  its  lowest  forms,  the  fishes  and  batrachians.  The  most 
common  and  characteristic  fossils  of  the  coal  era  are  marine  shells, 
which  abound  in  all  the  calcareous  and  many  of  the  argillaceous 
beds  of  this  formation.  The  species  most  widely  distributed  are  the 
following:  Productus  longispinus,  P.  costatus,  P.  Prattenianus,  P. 
punctatus,  Spirifer  cameratus,  S.  lineatus  and  Athyris  subtileta,  which 
appear  in  every  part  of  the  formation,  from  the  base  to  the  top. 
The  Crustacea  yet  known  are  few,  both  in  genera  and  species,  but 
we  find  two  or  three  species  of  Trilobites,  the  last  of  this  interesting 
division  known  in  a  fossil  state,  one  species  of  Bellinurus,  an  animal 
allied  to  the  King  Crab  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  four  species  of  smaller 
Crustacea,  apparently  not  very  nearly  allied  to  any  living  genera, 
and  two  or  three  insects.  The  iron  nodules  from  Mazon  creek,  in 
Grundy  county,  have  afforded  most  of  these  Crustaceans,  and,  also, 
the  bones  of  a  Salamander,  consisting  of  a  nearly  complete  skeleton, 
which  will  be  found  described  and  figured-  in  the  second  volume  of 
the  original  reports. 

The  Carboniferous  period  was  wonderfully  prolific  in  land  plants, 
presenting,  in  their  fossilized  remains,  the  evidence  of  a  gorgeous 
flora,  only  equaled,  at  the  present  time,  by  the  densest  jungles  of 
the  tropical  regions,  but  has  afforded,  as  yet,  no  land  animals  more 
highly  organized  than  the  insect  and  the  Salamander.  No  birds  or 
mammals  had  yet  sprung  into  being,  and  the  silence  of  these  ancient 
carboniferous  forests  was  probably  "unbroken,  save  by  the  chirping 
insect  and  the  croaking  frog."  The  era  of  mammalian  life  had  not 
yet  arrived,  but  the  earth  was  gradually  being  prepared  for  the 
reception  of  the  higher  types  of  animal  life  that  were  subsequently 
to  appear. 


CHAPTEE    III. 

LOWER  CARBONIFEROUS  LIMESTONE. 

This  division  of  the  Carboniferous  system  may  be  properly  sepa- 
rated into  five  divisions  or  groups,  which  are  easily  recognized  from 
the  specific  characters  of  the  fossils  contained  in  each.  It  attains 
an  aggregate  thickness  of  about  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  the  southern 
portion  of  the  State,  but  towards  the  north  the  different  members 
thin  out  successively,  and  the  whole  division  disappears  entirely  on 
the  western  borders  of  the  coal  field,  before  reaching  Rock  Island 
county.  We  have  designated  these  divisions  as  the  Chester  group, 
the  St.  Louis  group,  the  Keokuk  group,  the  Burlington  limestone,  and 
the  Kinderhook  group. 

CHESTER   GROUP. 

This  group  comprises  three  or  more  beds  of  limestone,  with  inter- 
calated beds  of  arenaceous  and  argillaceous  shales  and  sandstones, 
the  whole  attaining  a  maximum  thickness,  in  Randolph  county,  of 
at  least  six  hundred  feet.  The  following  section  will  illustrate  the 
general  characters  of  this  group,  as  it  appears  in  the  county  above 
named,  where  its  peculiar  features  were  first  studied: 

Hard  gray  siliceous  limestone 25  to  30  feet 

Shales  and  shaly  sandstones,  with  fossil  plants  Sigillaria,  Stigmaria,  Lepido- 

dendra,  Rnorrhia,  etc.,  (partially  hidden) 80  to  90  " 

Shaly  limestone  (local) 15  to  18  " 

Massivebrown  sandstone 40   " 

Limestone,  partly  nodular  and  argillaceous 45   " 

Green  and  blue  argillaceous  shales,  with  plates  of  limestone 45  to  70   " 

Argillaceous  and  siliceous  limestone  (local) 20  to  30   " 

Massive  sandstone  and  sandy  shale 15  to  20   " 

Compact  gray  limestone,  with  intercalations  of  blue,  green  and  purple  clay 

shales » 150  " 

Brown  sandstone 120   " 

According  to  the  observations  of  Mr.  HENRY  ENGELMANN,  the 
calcareous  beds  of  this  group  are  considerably  increased  in  thickness, 
in  the  more  southern  counties  examined  by  him.  In  a  northerly 


CHESTER   GROUP.  61 

direction  the  whole  group  thins  out  rapidly,  and  in  the  southern 
part  of  St.  Glair  county  it  probably  does  not  exceed  one  hundred 
feet,  and  in  the  bluffs  just  above  Alton,  in  Madison  county,  it  is 
represented  by  less  than  twenty  feet  of  grit  and  limestone.  The 
divisions  appear  to  thin  out  successively  from  the  uppermost  down- 
ward, and  in  Madison  county,  we  find  only  a  few  feet  of  the  two 
lower  beds  remaining.  Towards  the  southeast  it  appears  to  become 
thinner  in  Kentucky,  especially  the  calcareous  beds,  which,  according 
to  Mr.  S.  S.  LYON,  only  attain  an  aggregate  thickness,  though  recog- 
nized in  five  divisions,  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet.*  The 
thickness  of  the  whole  group  in  Kentucky,  from  the  top  of  the  St. 
Louis  limestone  to  the  base  of  the  conglomerate,  appears  to  be 
about  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet,  according  to  Mr.  LYON'S 
section. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  material  constituting  this  group  is  an 
argillaceous  or  arenaceous  sediment,  more  or  less  ferruginous,  that 
gives  rise  to  frequent  and  sudden  changes  in  the  lithological  char- 
acters of  the  different  members  of  the  group.  For  example :  in  the 
section  at  the  city  of  Chester,!  where  the  middle  portion  is  best 
exposed,  we  find  seventy  feet  of  green  and  blue  argillaceous  shales 
resting  upon  the  lower  limestone,  but  at  the  upper  end  of  the  city 
there  is  a  massive  sandstone,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  thickness, 
intercalated  between  the  lower  limestone  and  the  shale ;  and  at  Cole's 
Mill,  one  mile  below,  we  find  the  same  sandstone  and  a  bed  of  shaly 
limestone,  twenty  to  thirty  feet  thick,  also  intervening  between  the 
green  shale  and  the  lower  limestone.  It  would  probably  be  quite 
impossible  to  find  two  exposures  of  this  group,  at  points  a  few  miles 
apart,  that  would  give  exactly  the  same  succession  of  strata. 

The  calcareous  members  of  the  group  may  be  usually  described  as 
rather  coarsely  granulated  gray  limestone,  sometimes  argillaceous 
and  ferruginous,  and  filled  with  the  remains  of  Badiata  and  Mol- 
"lusca,  and  more  rarely  containing  the  teeth  and  spines  of  fishes. 
The  terms  Pentremital  limestones  and  Archimedes  limestones  have  been 
applied  by  different  authors  to  the  calcareous  beds  of  this  group,  in 
consequence  of  the  great  abundance  of  fossils  belonging  to  these  two 
genera  found  in  them ;  but  as  these  names  were  found  to  be  equally 
applicable  to  other  divisions  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series,  the 
interests  of  science  require  that  they  should  be  discarded,  and  some 
other  and  less  objectionable  name  substituted  for  the  group. 

*  Transactions  of  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science,  vol.  1,  p.  614. 
t  See  Report  on  Randolph  County. 


62  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

At  some  localities  these  limestones  are  quite  evenly  bedded,  and 
constitute  an  excellent  building  material,  and  at  others  they  become 
nodular  and  argillaceous,  and 'will  not  stand  exposure  to  atmospheric 
influences.  The  sandstones  belonging  to  the  group  are  finely  but 
distinctly  quartzose,  and  are  filled  with  brown  specks  of  oxyd  of  iron. 
They  are  usually  quite  evenly  bedded,  and  form  an  excellent  build- 
ing stone  and  flagging  material,  where  the  layers  are  of  suitable 
thickness. 

The  sandstones  and  shales  of  the  middle  and  upper  divisions  of 
this  group  have  afforded  a  few  species  of  fossil  plants  belonging  to 
the  genera  Lepidodendron,  Sigillaria,  Knorrhia,  Stigmaria  and  Megaphy- 
tum.  Casts  of  a  few  fossil  shells,  apparently  belonging  to  the  same 
species  that  are  found  in  the  associated  limestone,  were  observed  in 
the  second  sandstone  at  Chester. 

Fossils  are  very  abundant  in  some  of  the  calcareous  beds  of  this 
group,  and  the  upper  layers  of  the  lower  limestone,  in  some  locali- 
ties, seem  to  be  composed  mostly  of  plates  of  Agassizocrinus  and 
other  Crinoidea;  nevertheless  it  is  quite  rare  to  find  an  individual 
specimen  so  well  preserved  as  to  enable  the  paleontologist  to  deter- 
mine its  specific  character.  The  remains  of  fishes  are  quite  abundant 
in  the  upper  layers  of  the  lower  limestone,  and  in  the  calcareous 
plates  that  are  intercalated  in  the  green  and  blue  shales.  Sixteen 
species  of  this  division  of  the  Vertebrata  are  described  and  figured 
in  the  second  volume  of  the  original  Keport,  from  this  horizon. 

The  most  common  forms  of  Crinoidea  peculiar  to  this  group  are 
the  following:  Pentremites  godoni,  P.  sulcatus,  P.  pyriformis,  P. 
cervinus,  P.  robustus  and  P.  obesus;  Zeacrinus  maniformus  and  Z.  Wor- 
theni;  Agassizocrinus  conicus,  A.  constrictus  and  A.  Gibbosus.  Zaphrentis 
spinulosa  is  also  an  abundant  fossil  in  the  shales  above  the  limestone, 
where  it  is  associated  with  several  species  of  that  peculiar  form  of 
Bryozoa  to  which  the  generic  name  of  Lyropora  has  been  given,  and 
with  it  the  Archimedes  Swallovana. 

The  characteristic  Brachiopoda  of  the  Chester  group  are  the  fol- 
lowing :  Spirifer  bisulcatus,  Sowerby,*  (Spirifer  incrassatus,  Hall),  S. 
Leidyi,  S.  lineatus,*  Martin,  (S.  setigerus,  Hall),  S.  transversalis,  S. 
contractus;  Spiriferina  octoplicata*  Sowerby,  (Spirifer  spinosus,  N.  and 
P.),  Athyris  ambigua*  Sowerby,  (A.  subquadrata,  Hall),  Athyris  Roy- 
issii,*  1'Eveille,  (A.  sublamellosa,  Hall),  Productus  elegans,  P.  parvus, 

*  Authentic  specimens  of  these  species,  from  this  State,  were  submitted  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Davidson,  of  London,  England,  who  pronounced  them  identical  with  the  well  known 
European  species  above  named. 


CHESTER   GROUP.  63 

Retzia  vera  and  Rhynchonella  explanata.  Pinna  Missouriensis  of  Swal- 
low (perhaps  P.  flabelliformis  of  Sowerby),  is  a  common  shell  in  the 
upper  division  of  this  group  at  Chester,  and  on  Gravel  creek,  about 
four  or  five  miles  north  of  Chester,  and  is  usually  associated  with 
Allorisma  clavata,  Myalina  angulata  and  Schizodus  Chesterensis. 

But  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  fossils  which  this  group  affords 
are  the  large  Cephalopoda,  from  the  upper  limestone  in  the  vicinity 
of   Chester.     The   Nautilus   spectabilis   is   by  far  the   largest   known 
nautiloid  shell  hitherto  discovered  in  the  lower  Carboniferous  lime- 
stones of  America.     Only  two  or  three  nearly  perfect  individuals  have 
yet  been  seen,  though  fragments  are  of  frequent  occurrence.    The 
first  one  found  was  on  Gravel  creek,  and  was  said  to  be  nearly  two 
feet  in  diameter,  but  was  broken  into  fragments  by  the   quarryman 
who  found  it,  to  see  what  was  inside  of  it.     The  second  one  was  found 
by  Mr.  JAMES  M.  CHRISTIAN,   of  Chester,  and  is  now  in  the   State 
Cabinet.     This  specimen,  which  is  nearly  complete,  measures  twenty 
inches  in  diameter,  and  is  four  feet  eight  inches  in  circumference 
around  the    dorsum.    It  was    obtained   from   the   upper  limestone, 
about  half  a  mile  east  of  the  city  of  Chester.    The  Orthoceras  nobile, 
from  the  same  limestone,  of  which  only  a  part  of  a  single  individual 
has  been  seen,  must  have  been  at  least  five  or  six  feet  in  length 
and  a  foot  or  more  in  diameter  at  the  larger  extremity.     The  speci- 
men found  is  a  part  of  the  septate   portion  of  the  shell,  eighteen 
inches  in  length,  and  nearly  nine  inches  in  diameter  at  one  end  and 
seven  inches  at  the  other.     It  was  presented  to  the  State  Cabinet  by 
Mr.  ALEXANDER  DUNN,  of  Chester.    A  half  dozen  species,  or  more, 
of  chambered  shells  of  smaller  size  have  been  found  in  Eandolph 
county,  from  the  upper  limestone  of  this  group,  some  of  which  are 
described  in  the  second  volume  of  the  original  Eeport.     These  cham- 
bered  shells   appear   to   have   been   more    abundant,   and   to   have 
attained  a  greater  size,  during  the  period  in  which  these  limestones 
were  accumulating,  than  at  any  other  of  the  lower  Carboniferous 
era. 

The  fauna  of  this  group,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  quite  unlike  that 
of  any  other  sub-division  of  the  Carboniferous  system.  There  are 
not  more  than  a  half  dozen  species  from  the  lower  limestones  that 
are  known  to  extend  up  into  this  group,  and  only  three  or  four  that 
are  known  to  extend  from  this  into  the  Coal  Measures.  The  fossil 
flora  that  abounds  in  the  'sandstones  and  shales  of  this  division 
would  seem  to  ally  it  more  nearly  to  the  Coal  Measures,  but  the 
marine  fauna  of  the  calcareous  divisions  are  of  a  decidedly  lower 
Carboniferous  character.  Dr.  D.  D.  OWEN,  in  his  Eeport  on  the 


64  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Geology  of  Kentucky,  included  these  limestones  in  what  he  called  the 
Millstone-grit  series,  which  also  included  the  conglomerate  at  the 
base  of  the  Coal  Measures ;  but  as  we  have,  for  reasons  already 
stated  elsewhere,  included  the  conglomerate  with  the  Coal  Measures, 
it  seems  proper  to  group  these  limestones,  and  the  sandstones  and 
shales  associated  with  them,  into  a  distinct  division  of  the  lower 
Carboniferous  series. 

The  topographical  features  to  which  this  group  gives  origin  are 
those  of  a  broken  and  hilly  region,  everywhere  heavily  timbered,  the 
surface  presenting  sharp  ridges,  extending  in  the  direction  of  the 
general  drainage  of  the  country,  and  separated  by  deep,  narrow 
valleys.  It  forms,  by  decomposition,  an  excellent  soil  wherever  the 
surface  is  sufficiently  level  to  be  easily  cultivated,  producing  good 
crops  of  tobacco,  wheat,  barley,  corn,  and  all  the  varieties  of  fruits 
adapted  to  the  climate.  Many  of  the  finest  peach  orchards  in  South- 
ern Illinois  are  located  on  soils  derived  from  this  group  of  rocks. 
The  soil  is  mainly  a  buff  or  brown  colored  clay  loam,  and  is  far 
more  productive  than  its  appearance  would  indicate  to  the  casual 
observer.  Even  the  yellow  clay  sub-soil,  thrown  out  from  a  depth 
of  several  feet  below  the  surface,  if  left  exposed  for  a  few  months 
to  the  influence  of  the  atmosphere,  becomes  a  good  soil,  and  is 
productive  in  all  the  cereals  adapted  to  the  climate. 

The  lower  sandstone  of  the  Chester  group,  which  is  usually  the 
most  important  of  the  arenaceous  divisions,  varies  in  thickness, 
where  this  group  is  well  developed,  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  feet  or 
more.  In  the  Iowa  Report  it  was  described  under  the  name  of 
Ferruginous  Sandstone,  a  name  adopted,  in  the  Missouri  Report,  for 
the  conglomerate  sandstone  underlying  the  Coal  Measures,  with 
which  the  sandstone  now  under  consideration  appears  to  have  been 
confounded.  For  reasons  already  stated,  we  have  rejected  the  name 
Ferruginous  Sandstone,  and  adopted  that  of  Lower  Sandstone  of  the 
Chester  Group,  for  this  subdivision. 

This  sandstone  is  generally  found  in  thick  beds,  and  sometimes 
presents  a  concretionary  structure,  and  is  usually  composed  of  finer 
material  than  the  conglomerate  of  the  Coal  Measures,  is  more 
homogeneous  in  texture,  and  contains  no  pebbles  at  any  of  the  local- 
ities examined.  The  rock  is  usually  permeated  by  the  brown  oxide 
of  iron,  which,  when  evenly  disseminated,  gives  to  the  rock  a  soft 
brown  color,  but  is  sometimes  disseminated  through  it  in  specks, 
giving  it  a  mottled  appearance.  Sometimes  it  becomes  thin-bedded, 
and  affords  good  flagging  stones.  Where  the  ferruginous  matter  is 
evenly  distributed  through  the  mass,  it  forms  one  of  the  best  free- 


ST.    LOUIS   GROUP.  65 

stones  in  the  State,  and  becomes  a  very  valuable  material  for 
building  purposes.  It  is  generally  sufficiently  massive  to  afford 
blocks  of  any  desirable  size,  and  is  easily  cut,  and  hardens  slightly 
on  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  This  rock  has  been  extensively 
quarried  in  St.  Clair  county,  and  transported  to  St.  Louis,  where  it 
has  been  used  in  the  construction  of  one  of  the  finest  churches  in 
the  city.  No  fossils  have  yet  been  found  in  this  sandstone.  It  thins 
out  and  disappears  in  Madison  and  Jersey  counties,  with  the  atten- 
uated outliers  of  the  lower  limestone  of  the  Chester  group.  Towards 
its  base,  at  many  localities,  it  becomes  highly  ferruginous,  and 
affords  bands  of  tolerably  good  iron  ore. 

ST.    LOUIS     GROUP. 

Under  this  head  we  include  the  evenly  bedded  limestones  of  Alton 
and  St.  Louis,  the  concretionary  and  brecciated  limestones  of  the 
former  locality,  and  points  farther  north,  the  oolitic  limestone  which 
outcrops  at  the  river's  edge,  three  miles  above  Alton,  and  the  equiv- 
alent beds  at  Bloomington  and  Spergen  Hill,  Indiana,  and  the  blue 
calcareo-argillaceous  shales  and  magnesian  and  arenaceous  limestones 
at  Warsaw,  in  Hancock  county.  These  last  named  beds  are  char- 
acterized by  a  somewhat  peculiar  group  of  fossils,  and  have  usually 
been  regarded  as  forming  a  distinct  division  of  the  Mountain  Lime- 
stone series,  but  on  a  careful  examination  of  the  beds  at  many 
localities,  we  are  satisfied  that  su6h  a  division  is  entirely  arbitrary, 
and  not  justified  by  paleontological  evidence.  Many  of  the  species 
of  fossil  shells  that  occur  in  the  beds  above  named,  are  also  found 
in  the  upper  division  of  this  limestone  at  other  localities,  and  the 
changes  that  occur  in  the  fossil  contents  of  the  rock,  at  the  various 
localities  named,  may  be  attributed  to  the  local  conditions  under 
which  the  sediments  were  accumulated,  rather  than  to  any  specific 
change  in  the  character  of  the  fauna  of  this  period. 

North  of  the  junction  of  the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi,  where 
the  Chester  limestones  are  wanting,  this  formation  forms  the  lime- 
stone floor  on  which  the  Coal  Measures  were  deposited,  and  hence 
it  becomes  important  as  a  well  marked  and  reliable  horizon  for  the 
guidance  of  those  in  search  of  this  useful  mineral. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Alton  and  St.  Louis,  which  may  be  considered 

as   typical   localities,    this    formation    consists    of    regularly   bedded 

light  gray  or  bluish-gray  limestone,  sometimes  massive,  and   again 

in  thin  beds  suitable  for  flagstones,  and,  in  their  chemical  constitu- 

—5 


66  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

ents,  a  nearly  pure  carbonate  of  lime.  Near  the  middle  of  the 
formation,  between  Alton  and  the  mouth  of  the  Piasa,  we  find  a  bed 
of  concretionary  and  brecciated  limestone  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
in  thickness,  below  which  the  limestones  are  darker  colored, 
sometimes  rnagnesian  and  oolitic,  with  bands  of  blue  and  yellow 
shales.  The  entire  bluff,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Piasa  to  Alton,  is 
composed  of  this  limestone,  which  cannot  be  less  than  200  to  250 
feet  thick  in  this  vicinity.  North  of  the  Illinois  river  it  thins  out 
rapidly,  the  remaining  portion  in  that  region  having  a  general 
resemblance  to  the  middle  and  lower  portions  of  the  bed,  as  it 
appears  in  the  vicinity  of  Alton. 

In  the  southern  portion  of  the  State  a  marked  change  takes 
place  in  the  lithological  characters  of  the  bed,  and  in  Hardin  county 
the  upper  portion  is  characterized  by  beds  of  light  colored,  massive, 
oolitic  limestone,  while  the  lower  portion  becomes  thin-bedded  and 
cherty ;  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Illinois  Furnace  some  of  the  beds 
are  of  a  brownish-black  color,  and  being  fine  grained  and  compact 
n  texture,  take  a  fine  polish  and  form  a  black  marble.  Without 
the  aid  of  fossils,  which  everywhere  characterize  this  formation,  it 
would  be  utterly  impossible  to  identify  it  at  these  various  localities 
in  consequence  of  the  decided  changes  that  take  place  in  its  litho- 
logical characters.  Among  the  fossils  most  generally  distributed 
wherever  this  limestone  is  found,  from  Northern  Illinois  to  Alabama, 
and  which  can  always  be  relied  on  for  its  identification,  are  two 
species  of  fossil  corals  belonging  to  the  genus  Lithostrotion:  the 
L.  mamillare  and  L.  proliferum,  which  appear  to  abound  over  nearly 
the  whole  area  occupied  by  this  limestone. 

The  Meloniies  multipora  and  Poteriocrinus  Missouriensis  are  also 
characteristic  species  of  the  evenly  bedded  gray  limestones  that 
constitute  the  upper  part  of  this  formation,  in  the  vicinity  of  Alton 
and  St.  Louis,  and  there  are  also  several  species  of  shells  which 
characterize  this  horizon,  among  which  are  Productus  ovatus,  P. 
tenuicostus  (which  is,  perhaps,  a  variety  of  P.  semireticulatus) ,  Athyris 
ambigua,  and  a  variety  of  Spirifer  Keokuk,  described  by  SWALLOW, 
in  the  Transactions  of  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science,  under  the 
name  of  Spirifer  Littoni. 

The  fossil  corals  above  named  are  almost  always  siliceous  in  their 
structure,  the  calcareous  matter  that  originally  formed  the  coral 
having  been  removed  and  subsequently  replaced  with  silica ;  and, 
consequently,  they  weather  out  of  the  calcareous  layers  in  which 
they  were  originally  embedded,  and  are  found  lying  in  loose  masses 
along  the  beds  of  the  streams  that  intersect  the  limestone,  as  per- 


ST.    LOUIS   GROUP.  67 

feet  in  their  condition  as  though  they  had  just  been  detached  from 
the  coral  reef  where  they  originally  grew.  The  L.  mamillare  is 
frequently  found  in  masses  of  considerable  size,  composed  of  numer- 
our  calyces,  having  a  polygonal  structure,  giving  it  some  slight 
resemblance  to  a  honey-comb  in  which  the  cells  were  enlarged  to 
three  or  four  times  their  natural  diameter.  North  of  Piasa  creek 
the  whole  formation  thins  out  to  an  average  of  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  feet,  and  its  characters  are  similar  to  those  already 
described  as  peculiar  to  the  middle  and  lower  portions  of  the  bed. 
At  Warsaw,  in  Hancock  county,  the  upper  portion  of  the  bed 
comprises  the  concretionary  and  brecciated  limestone,  which  varies 
from  ten  to  thirty  feet  in  thickness,  and  the  lower  portion  is  made 
up  of  a  series  of  blue  clay  shales,  alternating  with  bands  of  impure 
limestone,  which  contain  great  numbers  of  a  remarkable  Bryozoan, 
described  and  figured  in  the  Iowa  Eeport  under  the  name  of 
Archimedes  Wortheni  and  A.  reversa,  the  two  being  only  varieties  of 
the  same  fossil.  Below  this  bed  of  shales  and  limestones  there  is  a 
bed  of  rnagnesian  limestone  which,  in  that  vicinity,  averages  from 
ten  to  twelve  feet  in  thickness,  and  above  the  shales  a  bed  of 
arenaceous  limestone  seldom  more  than  ten  feet  thick,  and  afford- 
ing, altogether,  the  following  section : 

Concretionary  and  brecciated  limestone 30  feet 

Arenaceous  limestone .10  " 

Blue  Arg.  shales  and  limestone 30  " 

Magnesian  limestone 12  " 

In  the  river  bluffs,  three  miles  above  Alton,  these  lower  beds  are 
represented  by  thin  bedded  magnesian  and  oolitic  limestones,  the 
latter  containing  Pentremites  conoideus  and  several  species  of  small 
fossil  shells,  identical  with  those  found  in  a  similar  position  at 
Bloomington  and  Spergen  Hill,  in  Indiana,  where  the  oolitic  beds 
containing  these  fossils  immediately  overlie  certain  shaly  beds  con- 
taining geodes  like  those  in  the  Keokuk  limestone.  This  division  of 
the  lower  Carboniferous  limestone  series  affords  a  great  amount  of 
excellent  building  stone  for  foundation  walls  and  other  architectural 
purposes,  and  some  varieties  are  susceptible  of  a  fine  polish,  and 
may  be  used  for  ornamental  purposes.  The  lead  mines  of  Hardin 
county  are  in  this  limestone,  the  ore  occurring  in  veins  associated 
with  calcite  and  fluor  spar. 

It  affords  a  large  amount  of  excellent  building  stone,  and  is  the 
best  limestone  for  the  manufacture  of  quick-lime  that  is  at  present 
known  in  this  State.  Alton,  has  long  been  noted  for  the  amount  and 
excellent  quality  of  the  lime  manufactured  at  that  point,  and  the 


68  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

limestone  from  which  it  is  made  is  quarried  from  the  upper  beds  of 
this  formation.  The  statistics  of  the  lime  trade  at  Alton  will  be 
found  in  the  report  on  Madison  county.  Just  at  the  junction  of 
this,  with  the  Keokuk  limestone  that  underlies  it,  there  is  a  bed  of 
hydraulic  limestone  in  St.  Glair,  Monroe  and  Jersey  counties,  and 
the  same  bed  may  no  doubt  be  found  in  Madison  county,  though 
its  outcrop  appears  to  be  hidden  at  the  localities  examined  along 
the  river  bluffs,  where  it  should  naturally  be  found. 

Where  this  limestone  constitutes  the  surface  rock  of  the  country, 
it  gives  origin  to  numerous  sink-holes  that  originally  formed  the 
entrances  to  subterranean  caverns ;  and  hence  this  limestone  has 
sometimes  been  called  cavernous  limestone.  But  many  of  these  have 
been  subsequently  partially  filled  with  sediment,  that  has  been 
washed  into  them  by  the  rain,  which  has  closed  the  entrance 
to  the  caverns  below,  and  formed  numerous  small  ponds  upon  the 
surface,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Louis.  At  some 
localities  these  sink-holes  and  ponds  are  so  numerous  as  to  seriously 
affect  the  value  of  the  land  for  agricultural  purposes.  North  of  the 
Illinois  river,  where  the  lower  portion  of  this  division  only  is  seen, 
its  cavernous  character  is  not  observable,  and  the  magnesian  and 
arenaceous  divisions,  by  their  decomposition,  contribute  valuable 
materials  to  enrich  the  soils  along  the  line  of  outcrop  of  this  lower 
division  of  the  group. 

The  remains  of  Vertebrata  are  not  so  numerous  in  this  limestone 
as  in -some  of  the  other  divisions  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series, 
but  a  few  localities  have  been  discovered  in  this  State  where  they 
are  tolerably  abundant,  and  nineteen  species  of  fishes  will  be  found 
described  in  the  second  volume  of  the  original  Eeport,  from  this 
horizon. 

The  lower  division  is  also  characterized  by  great  numbers  of  Bry- 
ozoans,  at  certain  localities,  among  which  the  screw- shaped  axis  known 
as  Archimedes  is  conspicuous,  and  it  attains  a  larger  size  here  than 
anywhere  else  in  the  series.  Crinoidea  and  Echinoidea  are  less 
numerous,  both  as  species  and  individual  specimens,  in  this  than  in 
the  lower  limestones.  The  following  thirty  species  are  already  known 
to  occur  in  this  group:  Actinocrinus  caliculus,  A.  caroli,  A.  (Bato- 
crinus)  irregularis,  A.  (Batocrinus)  icosidactilus,  Platycrinus  plenus, 
P.  Prattenianus,  P.  penicillus,  P.  pumilus,  P.  Georgii,  Pcntremites 
conoideus,  P.  Koninckana,  P.  cornutus,  P.  Grosvenouri,  P.  Kirkwood- 
ensis ;  Taxocrinus  semieovatus,  T.  Shumardianus,  Zeacrinus  interme- 
dius;  Scaphiocrinus  dactyliformis,  S.  divaricatus;  Dichocrinus  constrictus, 
D.  dichotomus,  D.  ovatus;  PoUriocrinus  Missouriensis;  Graphiocrinus 


KEOKUK  GROUP.  69 

dactyl'is;  Cyathocrinus  Thomce;  Rhodocrinus  Varsouviensis ;  Archceoci- 
daris  Wortheni,  A.  Shumardianus ;  Melonites  multipora,  and  Schcenaster 
fimbriatus.  The  genus  Actinocrinus  is  not  at  present  known  above 
this  horizon,  and  the  A.  caroli,  which  occurs  in  Hardin  county,  near 
the  top  of  this  group,  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  modern  form  of 
this  genus  at  present  known. 

Oolitic  beds  are  quite  characteristic  of  this  division,  and  in  Har- 
din county,  massive  beds  of  oolitic  limestone  form  the  upper  portion 
of  it  at  several  localities,  one  of  which  is  the  river  bluff  just  above 
Eoseclare.  This  rock  is  very  homogeneous  in  its  texture,  is  suscep- 
tible of  a  fine  polish,  and  makes  a  very  pretty  marble.  About  three 
miles  above  Alton  there  are  some  oolitic  and  semi- oolitic  beds  in 
the  lower  part  of  this  group,  which  are  characterized  by  great  num- 
bers of  small  shells,  among  which  are  Rhynchonella  Grosvenori,  R. 
sub-cuneata,  R.  macro,,  R.  Wortheni,  Orthis  dubia,  and  Terebratula  for- 
mosa.  But  these  small  Brachiopods  are  not  entirely  restricted  to 
this  horizon,  but  are  also  found  at  other  localities  in  the  upper 
division  of  the  group.  We  hope,  hereafter,  to  be  able  to  give  a 
complete  catalogue  of  all  the  fossils  hitherto  described  from  the 
different  members  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestone  series  in 
this  State. 

KEOKUK    GROUP. 

Along  the  western  borders  of  the  State,  from  the  north  line  of 
Hancock  county  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river,  this  formation 
may  be  separated  into  three  divisions :  first,  the  geode  bed ;  second, 
the  regular  bedded  gray  limestones  quarried  at  Keokuk  and  Nauvoo ; 
and,  third,  the  thin  bedded  cherty  rock  that  forms  the  beds  of 
passage  from  the  limestone  above  named  to  the  Burlington  lime- 
stone below.  The  upper  division  consists  of  calcareo-argillaceous 
shales  and  shaly  magnesian  limestone,  and  is  about  forty  feet  in 
thickness.  It  is  filled  with  siliceous  geodes,  varying  in  size  from 
half  an  inch  to  a  foot  and  a  half,  or  more,  in  diameter,  many  of 
which  are  hollow  spheres  of  quartz  or  chalcedony,  with  their  inte- 
rior cavity  lined  with  beautiful  crystals  of  quartz,  calcite,  dolomite, 
zinc  blende,  etc.,  and  frequently  with  two  or  more  of  these  minerals 
occupying  the  same  cavity.  There  is  no  formation  in  the  State 
that  presents  such  attractive  and  interesting  specimens  of  crystal- 
lized minerals  as  are  to  be  found  in  this  division  of  the  Keokuk 
limestone,  and  tons  of  these  beautiful  geodes  have  been  sent  from 
the  county  of  Hancock  to  adorn  the  cabinets  of  the  mineralogists 


70  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

throughout  the  civilized  world.  A  fine  section  of  the  geode  bed  is 
exposed  just  above  the  steamboat  landing  at  Warsaw,  where  its 
whole  thickness  may  be  seen  in  the  bluff  above  the  railroad  grade ; 
and  there  is  perhaps  no  locality  known  in  the  West  where  a  few 
hours'  labor  of  a  good  collector  would  be  rewarded  by  so  large  a 
variety  of  finely  crystallized  specimens.  At  Niota,  in  the  northern 
part  of  Hancock  county,  a  few  individual  geodes  have  been  found 
containing  asphaltum.  A  small  collection  of  these  geodes  was  sent 
to  Prof.  GEO.  J.  BRUSH,  the  accomplished  Professor  of  Mineralogy 
and  Metallurgy  in  Yale  College,  with  the  request  that  he  would  note 
such  interesting  facts  as  they  might  present  to  the  practiced  eye  of 
the  mineralogist,  and  he  has  kindly  transmitted  the  following 
interesting  letter  and  report,  which  I  am  permitted  to  introduce 
here: 

SHEFFIELD  LABORATORY  OF  YALE  COLLEGE. 
NEW  HAVEN,  CONN.,  June  7,  1865. 

A.  H.  WOBTHEN, 

State  Geologist,  Springfield,  III.: 

SIB— Herewith  I  send  you  a  report  on  the  character  of  the  filling  of  the  geodes  from  the 
Keokuk  limestone,  which  you  submitted  to  me  for  examination  last  November.  You  will 
observe  that  I  have  numbered  each  geode,  and  given  a  brief  account  of  its  mineralogical 
characters,  with  the  order  of  deposition  of  the  different  species..  To  give  an  idea  of  the 
relative  size  of  the  geodes  examined,  I  have  stated  their  dimensions  roughly,  not  attempt- 
ing to  give  them  accurately.  To  complete  my  report,  it  will  be  necessary  for  yourself,  or 
some  other  person  conversant  with  the  facts,  to  make  some  general  statements  as  to  the 
great  variety  in  the  form  of  the  geodes,  their  variations  in  size  and  the  mode  of  their 
occurrence  in  the  limestone.  It  is  possible  that  an  examination  of  a  large  number  would 
add  some  further  facts  to  the  paragenesis  of  their  mineral  contents,  and  would  furnish 
some  generalizations  which,  as  yet,  are  wanting. 

You  will  observe  that,  in  every  case  I  have  examined,  the  outer  layer  of  the  geode  is 
siliceous,  and  is  of  that  form  of  silica  which  is  called  chalcedony,  although  sometimes  this 
outer  siliceous  rim  is  extremely  thin.  The  next  in  the  order  of  super-position  is  crystal- 
line quartz.  In  every  geode  which  contains  crystalline  quartz,  this  rests  directly  on  the 
chalcedony.  In  some  instances  a  second  layer  of  chalcedony  rests  on  the  quartz  crystals 
(Nos.  11, 14  and  22),  and  in  one  instance  a  second  series  of  quartz  crystals  rests  on  the 
second  layer  of  chalcedony.  Calcite  occurs  in  great  beauty  and  variety  of  form,  some- 
times resting  directly  on  chalcedonic  crust,  and  sometimes  resting  on  the  lining  of  quartz. 
In  no  instance,  where  calcite  and  quartz  occur  in  the  same  geode,  have  I  found  the  quartz 
resting  on  calcite*;  they  all  indicate  that  the  calcite  is  subsequent  in  formation  to  the 
quartz.  The  calcite  crystals  are  worthy  of  special  crystallographic  study. 

The  occurrence  of  pyrites  shows  that  in  some  cases  its  formation  was  simultaneous  with 
that  of  calcite,  while  in  other  instances  it  was  apparently  subsequent  to  it.  The  elongated 
crystals  of  tarnished  pyrites  are  quite  remarkable,  and  might  easily  be  confounded  with 
rutile;  but  they  show  a  yellow  color  and  a  cross  fracture,  and  a  blow-pipe  examination 
reveals  their  real  character. 

Blende  seems  to  have  been  simultaneous  in  formation  with  the  calcareous  layer  of  the 
geodes  in  which  it  occurs,  for  in  two  instances  I  have  observed  it  embedded  in  the  calcare- 
ous layer,  without  resting  on  the  chalcedonic  base. 

Gypsum,  observed  in  minute  crystals  in  only  two  instances,  is  subsequent  in  formation 
to  the  second  layer  of  chalcedony  in  the  geodes  in  which  it  occurs.  Pearl-spar,  dolomite, 

*  A  single  geode  was  found  at  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  is  now  in  the  cabinet  of  the  writer,  in 
which  large  crystals  of  calcite  are  partly  covered  with  smaller  crystals  of  quartz.— A.H.W 


KEOKUK      GBOUP.  71 

or  brown-spar,  as  it  might  very  appropriately  be  called,  occurs  in  several  geodes,  and  is 
almost  always  of  subsequent  formation  to  the  calcite.  In  a  few  instances,  however,  cal- 
cite  crystals  appear  resting  on  a  dolomite  base,  and  this  leads  me  to  call  attention  to  the 
occurrence  of  calcite  of  at  least  two  distinct  periods  of  formation,  as  shown  by  the  form 
and  color  of  the  crystals  (Nos.  20  and  21).  The  dolomite  in  the  geodes  seems  to  be  pecu- 
liarly liable  to  decomposition  by  the  oxidation  of  the  iron.  An  analysis  of  it  shows  it  to 
contain  a  large  percentage  of  carbonate  of  iron  with  the  carbonates  of  lime  and  mag- 
nesia. 

Aragonite  was  found  but  in  one  instance,  and  then  resting  on  dolomite.  Geode  No.  32 
contained  a  considerable  amount  of  a  loose  white  powder,  which,  on  chemical  examina- 
tion, proved  to  be  hydrous  silicate  of  alumina;  and  it  is  exceedingly  curious  that  the 
crystals  of  calcite,  in  what  must  have  been  the  lower  part  of  the  cavity,  contain,  dissem- 
inated through  them,  this  same  silicate,  as,  upon  solution  in  acid,  they  leave  behind  an 
insoluble  white  powder,  similar  in  character  to  that  found  loose  in  the  geode.  Morever, 
the  crystals  differ  in  form  from  those  lining  the  upper  portion  of  the  cavity. 

Geode  No.  4  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  suite,  being  almost  filled  with  asphaltum, 
and  having  isolated  quartz  crystals  embedded  in  the  asphaltum.  For  other  details  I  must 
refer  to  my  report,  and  I  repeat  here,  what  I  have  already  remarked,  that  the  examination 
of  other  specjinens  may  develop  further  generalizations  as  to  the  character  of  the  min- 
erals contained  in  them,  and  the  manner  and  order  in  which  they  have  been  deposited. 
I  have  felt  that  it  was  best  simply  to  put  on  record  the  facts  I  have  observed,  and  leave  to 
others  more  favorably  situated  to  complete  the  study  of  these  remarkable  geodes. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

GEO.  J.  BKUSH. 

Report  on  the  Dfineralogical  Character  of  Geodes  from  the  Keokuk  Limestone,*  by  GEO. 
J.  BBUSH,  Professor  of  Mineralogy  and  Metallurgy  in  Yale  College. 

No.  1.— Dimensions  of  geode,  4^x4x2^  inches.  Crust,  %  to  1  inch  thick;  exteriorly  sili- 
ceous and  interiorly  calcareous.  Cavity  lined  with  rhombohedral  crystals  of  calcite  i/ie 
to  %  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  on  these,  filling  about  one-fourth  of  the  cavity,  rests  a 
highly  modified  rhombohedron  of  colorless  calcite.  In  one  end  of  the  cavity,  and 
embedded  in  the  crust,  is  a  crystal  of  blende  M  of  an  inch  across.  On  the  calcite  are 
minute  acicular  crystals  of  a  hair  brown  color,  which  have,  on  pyrognostic  examination, 
proved  to  be  tarnished  pyrites.  They  are  in  the  form  of  feathery  spiculae,  and  very  much 
resemble  the  variety  of  rutile  known  as  "fleches  d'amours."  A  small  amount  of  pulveru- 
lent siliceous  substance  is  also  contained  in  the  cavity. 

No.  2.— Dimensions,  7x5x4  inches.  Crust,  M  to  1  inch  thick,  entirely  silicious:  exteriorly 
chalcedonic  and  interiorly  crystalline  quartz.  Cavity  lined  with  quartz  crystals,  showing 
only  the  pyramidal  terminations.  Implanted  on  the  quartz  crystals  is  a  scalenohedral 
crystal  of  calcite,  with  rhombohedral  and  other  modifications.  Minute  crystals  of  iron- 
pyrites  occur,  inclosed  in  the  calcite  and  resting  on  the  quartz. 

No.  3. — Dimensions,  4x4x2  inches.  Crust,  on  the  outer  edge,  chalcedonic,  then  calca- 
reous, and  about  %  of  an  inch  from  the  exterior  occurs  a  line  of  pyrites,  and  inside  of 
this  calcareous  spar  and  blende.  Dimensions  of  cavity,  lxlxl}6  inches,  lined  with  low 
hexagonal  prisms  of  calcite,  with  rhombohedral  summits.  In  one  end  of  the  cavity  the 
calcite  crystals  are  implanted  on  blende,  and  small  cubic  crystals  of  pyrites  occur  resting 
on  the  calcite.  They  are  tarnished  to  a  golden-yellow  .color. 

No.  4.  Dimensions,  4x3x3  inches.  Crust,  not  over  %  an  inch  thick,  siliceous  and  mostly 
chaledonic;  lined  with  small  quartz  crystals,  and  the  cavity  apparently  more  than  half 
filled  with  asphaltum,  the  latter  breaking  with  a  clear  conchoidal  fracture,  having  a  high 
lustre  and  jet  black  color,  and  containing,  embedded  in  it,  detached  crystals  of  quartz, 
sometimes  34  of  an  inch  in  length  and  half  a  line  in  diameter. 

No.  5.— Dimensions,  3x2fex2  inches.  Crust,  siliceous,  the  exterior  chalcedonic  and 
interior  crystalline  quartz,  on  which  are  implanted  hexagonal  crystals  of  calcite.  with 

*  Accompanying  a  letter  to  A.  H.  WOBTHEN,  State  Geologist. 


72  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

rhombohedral  summits.  The  calcite  crystals  are  %  to  1  inch  in  length  and  %  to  %  of  an 
inch  in  diameter.  A  single  isolated  crystal  shows  both  terminations.  Minute  crystals  of 
pyrites  also  occur  on  the  quartz. 

No.  6.— Dimensions,  SJsxSxlM  inches.  Specimen  very  much  resembling  No.  1,  in  generat 
characters,  but  containing  no  blende. 

No.  7.  Dimensions,  3^x3x2  inches.  Crust,  from  %  to  %  of  an  inch  thick,  lined  with 
small  hexagonal  crystals  of  calcite,  with  occasional  points  showing  minute  quartz  crys- 
als,  and  the  cavity  more  than  half  filled  with  a  single  group  of  hexagonal  crystals  of 
calcite. 

No.  8.— Dimensions,  4J^x3^x2  inches.  Crust,  %  to  %  of  an  inch  thick,  silicious,  and  inte- 
riorly lined  with  quartz  crystals,  showing  the  hexagonal  form  and  pyramidal  termina- 
tions, and  having  implanted  on  them  hexagonal  crystals  of  calcite,  with  rhombohedral 
terminations.  Implanted  on  the  quartz  are  minute  crystals  of  iron  pyrites. 

No.  9.— Dimensions,  5&x5^x3}6  inches.  Crust,  %  to  1  inch  thick;  character  of  filling 
almost  identical  with  No.  8,  but  containing  quartz  crystals  with  double  terminations,  and 
elongated  crystals  of  tarnished  pyrites. 

No.  10.— Dimensions,  4%x4x2)6  inches.  Crust,  %  inch  thick,  and  quite  uniform.  Lined 
with  quartz  crystals,  and  containing  a  single  partially  developed  crystal  of  calcite  of  the 
same  form  as  in  Nos.  8  and  9.  The  dimensions  of  this  crystal  are  %  an  inch  high  and  two 
inches  across.  Implanted  on  the  quarts  are  minute  crystals  of  tarnished  pyrites. 

No.  11. — Dimensions,  4%x4x3  inches.  Crust,  fa  to  1  inch  thick;  chalcedonic  on  the  exte- 
terior,  but  consisting  chiefly  of  crystalline  quartz,  having  a  bluish-white  color  and  show- 
ing pyramidal  planes.  These  crystals  are  coated  with  a  layer  of  white  chalcedony  a  line 
or  more  thick.  Besting  on  this  chalcedony  are  crystals  of  quartz,  having  a  smoky  tinge. 
A  few  of  them  have  a  thin  scale  of  chalcedony  covering  them,  and  little  specks  of  hydrated 
oxide  of  iron  are  also  implanted  on  some  of  the  crystals. 

No.  12.— Dimensions,  4^x3^x254  inches.  Crust,  %  inch  thick;  entirely  siliceous,  and 
lined  with  quartz  crystals.  These  are,  for  the  most  part,  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of 
white  chalcedony,  and  this  latter  has  implanted  on  it  minute  crystals  of  pyrites. 

No.  13. — Dimensions,  4x3^x3  inches.  :Crust,  %  inch  thick,  and  almost  identical,  in  char- 
acter, with  No.  8. 

No.  14.— Dimensions,  7x4)6x3^  inches.  Crust,  varying  in  thickness  from  M  to  IVs  inches, 
and  a  portion  of  the  exterior  covered  with  calcite  and  dotted  with  minute  crystals  of 
pyrites  and  blende.  The  crust  proper  is  mainly  silicious;  chalcedonic  on  the  exterior, 
then  crystalline — showing  distinct  crystallizations  of  quartz;  and  then,  deposited  on  and 
covering  these,  a  layer  of  bluish-white  chalcedony,  in  some  portions  a  line  or  more  in 
thickness,  but  in  other  portions  only  sufficient  to  cover  the  quartz  crystals,  their  form 
remaining  perfectly  distinct.  Subsequent  to  the  deposition  of  the  chalcedony  is  calcite, 
which  occurs  in  a  group  of  low  hexagonal  crystals.  Kesting  on  the  chalcedony  in  one 
end  of  the  cavity,  and  deposited  on  the  calcite,  as  well  as  on  the  chalcedony,  are  minute 
cubes  of  pyrites,  sometimes  mounted  on  delicate  elongated  prisms  of  the  same  species. 
The  chalcedony  has,  also,  resting  on  it  minute  crystals  of  pearl  spar,  and  some  extremely 
small  and  thin  crystals  of  gypsum. 

No.  15.— Dimensions, 3%x3?4x2^  inches.  Crust, from  %  toMof  an  inch  thick.  Characters 
resembling  those  of  No.  1. 

No.  16.—  Dimensions,  2^x294x1%  inches.  Crust,  M  to  H  of  an  inch  thick.  Characters 
like  No.  1. 

No.  17.— Dimensions. 3x2%x2%  inches.  Crust,  M  to  56  inch  thick;  exteriorly  chalcedonic 
and  interiorly  calcareous;  lined  with  translucent  hexagonal  crystals  of  calcite,  with  rhom- 
bohedral terminations.  Crystals,  %  to  &  inch  in  diameter.  Those  in  a  portion  of  the 
geode  were  gray  and  opaque,  from  inclosed  earthy  matter. 

No.  18.— Dimensions,  4x3?4xl%  inches.  Crust.  %  to  %  inch  thick;  exteriorly  chalcedonic 
and  interiorly  calcareous;  lined  with  light  brown  rhombohedrons  of  calcite,  and  the  cavity 
more  than  half  filled  with  a  solid  mass  of  white  calcite,  the  exposed  surface  of  which  is 
made  up  of  low  rhombohedrons,  showing  minute  hexagonal  planes.  The  other  portions 
of  the  geode  contain  isolated  transparent  crystals  of  the  same  form,  resting  upon  the 
small  brown  crystals  which  form  the  lining  of  the  geode.  Implanted  on  both  varieties  of 
calcite  are  minute  crystals  of  pyrites. 


KEOKUK    GROUP.  73 

No.  19.— Dimensions,  3x3^x124  inches.  Crust,  M  to  %  inch  thick;  exteriorly  chalcedonic 
and  interiorly  calcareous;  lined  with  brilliant  translucent  crystals  of  calcite  Va  to  M  of  an 
inch  long,  and  having  a  scalenohedral  form,  with  rhombohedral  terminations.  Cavity, 
more  than  half  filled  with  a  group  of  calcite  crystals,  resting  on  the  smaller  crystals;  and 
on  both  varieties  of  calcite  occur  minute  hair-like  crystals  of  pyrites. 

No.  20. — Dimensions,  394x3>2x2}6  inches.  Crust,  54  to  H  inch  thick;  exteriorly  chalce- 
donic and  interiorly  calcareous;  lined  with  yellowish-brown  rhombohedrons  of  calcite,  % 
to  }«  an  inch  across;  and  resting  on  these  are  isolated  crystals  and  groups  of  low  rhombo- 
hedrons of  colorless  calcite. 

No  21.—  Dimensions,  2Mxl94xl>6  inches.  Crust,  &  to  36  inch  thick;  similar  in  character 
to  No.  20,  and  also  lined  with  brilliant  brown  rhombohedrons  of  calcite;  and  resting  on 
these  are  modified  rhombohedrons  of  colorless  calcite. 

No.  22.— Dimensions,  3^x3x294  inches.  Crust,  %  an  inch  thick,  silicious;  the  exterior 
chalcedonic,  then  crystalline  quartz.  On  this  is  a  second  layer  of  chalcedony,  showing 
botryoidal  prominences,  and  dotted  with  spots  of  yellow  oxide  of  iron,  from  decomposed 
pyrites;  and  the  surface  of  the  chalcedony  is,  for  the  most  part,  stained  yellow.  On  the 
fracture  it  shows  a  delicate  bluish-white  color,  with  occasional  minute  black  points. 
Deposited  on  some  portions  of  the  surface  of  the  chalcedony  are  minute  crystals  of 
gypsum, 

No.  23.— Dimensions,  3?4x2&x3  inches.  Crust,  &  an  inch  thick;  the  exterior  layer  chal- 
cedonic, then  calcareous,  and  lined  with  yellowish-white  scalenohedral  crystals  of  calcite 
}£  to  94  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  the  cavity  divided  into  two  portions  by  a  group  of  scalen- 
ohedrons  extending  across  it.  Implanted  on  the  crystals  are  minute  elongated  crystals 
of  tarnished  pyrites. 

No.  24.— Dimensions,  2^x2x2  inches.  Crust,  %,  to  %  inch  thick,  silicious;  the  exterior 
layer  chalcedonic,  the  interior  crystalline,  and  lined  with  crystals  of  quartz,  tarnished  on 
the  surface  by  a  thin  film  of  oxide  of  iron.  Besting  on  the  quartz  crystals  is  a  nodule  of 
crystalline  calcite  and  crystals  of  hydrated  oxide  of  iron,  the  latter  evidently  pseudomor- 
phic  of  pearl  spar. 

No.  25.— Dimensions,  3%x3J4x2  inches.  Crust,  %  to  %  of  an  inch  thick;  the  exterior  layer 
chalcedonic,  the  interior  calcareous  and  lined  with  white,  almost  colorless  rhombohedrons 
of  calcite.  Resting  on  one  side,  and  probably  embedded  in  the  crust,  is  a  large  group  of 
blende  crystals,  1%  inches  across,  and  filling  perhaps  one-third  of  the  whole  cavity.  The 
blende  is  coated  white,  from  a  superficial  conversion  into  zinc  bloom.  Resting  on  the 
calcite  are  small  groups  of  rhombohedral  crystals,  with  curved  faces;  and  implanted  on 
these,  as  well  as  on  the  calcite,  are  minute  crystals  of  tarnished  pyrites.  Many  of  the 
dolomite  crystals  are  stained  yellow  by  oxide  of  iron. 

No.  26. — Dimensions,  254x2x1%  inches.  Crust,  Vs  to  %  of  an  inch  thick,  silicious;  exteriorly 
chalcedonic,  interiorly  crystalline,  and  lined  with  small  hexagonal  crystals  of  quartz,  with 
the  ordinary  pyramidal  termination.  Resting  on  the  quartz  are  groups  of  dolomite  crystals 
having  the  same  characters  as  those  in  No.  25. 

No.  27.— Dimensions,  3)6x294x214  inches.  Crust,  J4  to  %  of  an  inch  thick;  resembling  No. 
26,  but  contains,  also,  rhombohedral  calcite  on  the  quartz,  and  dolomite  resting  on  the 
calcite  as  well  as  on  the  quartz. 

No.  28.— Dimensions,  3^x3^x2M  inches.  Cavity  quite  flat,  and  almost  filled  with  the 
crystals.  The  lining  is  similar  to  No.  25,  containing  blende  resting  on  the  calcareous 
crust,  calcite  crystals  with  dolomite  covering  them,  and  again  occasional  isolated  crystals 
with  dolomite  covering  them,  and  again  occasional  isolated  crystals  of  calcite,  apparently 
resting  on  the  dolomite.  Minute  crystals  of  pyrites  occur,  dotted  over  the  surface  of  the 
dolomite  and  calcite  crystals. 

No.  29.— Dimensions,  4v3x3  inches.  Crust,  %  an  inch  thick;  the  exterior  layer  chalcedonic 
and  the  interior  calcareous.  Lined  with  light-brown  rhombohedral  crystals  of  calcite, 
on  which  rest  white  modified  rhombohedrons  of  the  same  species,  and  yellowish-brown 
crystals  of  dolomite.  Inclosed  in  the  calcite  are  minute  hair-brown  crystals  of  tarnished 
pyrites,  as  well  as  the  ordinary  form  of  the  same  species. 

No.  30.— Dimensions,  4%x3%x5  inches.  Crust,  variable  in  thickness;  the  outside  covered 
with  yellowish-brown  limestone,  then  a  faint  line  of  chalcedony,  in  some  portions  dolo- 
mite resting  on  calcite,  then  ferruginous  dolomite  resting  on  calcite,  while  in  others 
calcite  rests  on  dolomite. 


74  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

No.  31.— Dimensions,  6x4;«x4  inches.  Crust,  M  to  ^  an  inch  thick;  the  outside  partially 
covered  with  an  eartky  limestone,  under  which  is  a  layer  of  chalcedony,  lined  with  crys- 
talline quartz.  Resting  on  the  quartz  are  dolomite,  calcite  and  minute  crystals  of  pyrites. 
The  dolomite  fills  more  than  half  of  the  cavity,  and  is  almost  entirely  decomposed  and 
converted  into  hydrated  oxide  of  iron.  The  crystals  are  coated  with  a  thin  film  of  rhom- 
bohedral  carbonate  of  lime,  and  implanted  on  the  dolomite  are  beautiful  acicular  crystals 
of  aragonite. 

No-  32.— Dimensions,  3?6x2%xl?4  inches.  Crust,  M  to  %  of  an  inch  thick;  exteriorly 
silicious  and  interiorly  calcareous.  Lined  with  crystals  of  calcite  in  two  distinct  forms — 
in  one  case,  translucent  hexagonal  prisms,  with  rhombohedral  summits;  in  the  other, 
white  (almost  opaque)  scalenohedrons.  The  cavity  contains  a  white  powder,  which',  on 
examination,  proves  to  be  a  hydrous  silicate  of  alumina.  The  white  calcite,  when  treated 
with  acid,  gave  an  insoluble  white  residue,  apparently  identical  with  the  powder  found 
loose  in  the  geode. 

No.  33.— Dimensions.  3^x2^x2  inches.  Crust,  chalcedonic  exteriorly,  and  lined  with 
calcite  in  crystalline  botryoidal  or  warty  prominences,  rarely  in  distinct  crystals.  The 
calcite  has  a  yellowish- white  color,  and  is  stained  with  oxide  of  iron. 

All  the  geodes  sent  to  Prof.  BKUSH  for  examination  were  of  com- 
paratively small  size,  but  they  represented  all  the  varieties  of 
crystallized  minerals  obtained  from  the  geode  bed  up  to  the  time 
they  were  sent;  and  it  is  hardly  probable  that  a  critical  examina- 
tion of  the  larger  individuals  would  add  very  much  to  this  interest- 
ing report,  unless  it  might  be  to  show  some  variety  in  the  form  of 
crystallization  presented  by  the  larger  groups  of  crystals. 

The  geodes  occur  disseminated  through  the  shale  and  shaly  lime- 
stone, sometimes  so  thickly  dispersed  through  it  that  the  individuals 
press  against  each  other,  as  they  lie  embedded  in  the  matrix ;  and, 
again,  are  so  sparsely  disseminated  that  several  cubic  feet  of  the 
shale  will  afford  not  more  than  a  single  specimen.  They  are  most 
abundant,  at  Warsaw,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  bed,  which  also 
affords  nearly  all  the  large  sized  individuals.  The  general  form  of 
those  filled  with  silicious  minerals  is  globular,  and  many  of  them 
are  solid  spheres  of  quartz,  the  interior  of  which  is  generally  crys- 
talline, with  a  thin  crust  of  chalcedony  coating  the  exterior  surface. 

Through  the  middle  of  the  geode  bed  there  is  a  band  of  shale 
which,  at  Warsaw,  is  from  eight  to  ten  feet  thick,  in  which  nearly 
all  the  geodes  are  lined  with  calcareous  minerals,  and  these  present 
less  regularity  of  form  than  those  lined  with  quartz.  Many  of  them 
are  flat  discs,  nearly  or  quite  solid,  but  always  containing  calcite, 
and  frequently  fine  crystals  of  blende.  Nos.  31  and  32  of  the  above 
report  were  obtained  from  a  layer  of  shaly,  brown  magnesian  lime- 
stone, exposed  about  four  miles  eust  of  Warsaw.  This  limestone 
appears  to  occupy  about  the  same  horizon  with  the  shales  that 
afford  the  calcareous  geodes  at  Warsaw,  or  at  least  we  can  assert 
that  it  overlies  that  portion  of  the  bed  which,  affords  the  silicious 


KEOKUK    GROUP.  75 

geodes  in  the  greatest  numbers.  In  the  upper  portion  of  the  bed 
the  geodes  are  also  silicious,  but  much  more  sparsely  disseminated 
than  in  the  lower  part. 

The  geode  No.  4  was  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Niota,  in  the  north 
part  of  Hancock  county,  with  several  others  of  similar  character, 
one  of  which  was  filled  with  liquid  bitumen.  They  belong  to  the 
lower  part  of  the  bed,  and  are  associated  with  others  exclusively 
siliceous.  St.  Francisville,  in  Missouri,  is  also  a  fine  locality  for 
large  siliceous  geodes,  and  many  specimens  from  this  locality  con- 
tain splendid  groups  of  calcite  crystals  implanted  on  the  crystalline 
quartz.  We  have  broken  several  specimens  at  this  locality,  the 
cavity  of  which  was  partially  filled  with  clear  water,  and  as  they 
appeared  impervious  to  water  from  the  outside,  it  seems  probable 
that  the  water  was  inclosed  in  the  geode  when  the  crust  was 
formed.*  A  few  individuals  have  been  seen  where  a  thin  siliceous 
crust  inclosed  a  globular  mass  of  chaledonic  quartz,  covered  with 
drusy  quartz  crystals.  Sometimes  this  drusy  mass  is  entirely  sepa- 
rate from  the  crust  and  lies  loose  in  the  cavity  of  the  geode,  but 
usually  it  is  attached  on  one  side,  at  least,  to  the  crust. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  although  these  geodes  occur  embedded 
in  a  matrix  composed  largely  of  alumina ;  indeed,  at  some  localities 
it  is  a  complete  clay  shale ;  yet  there  is  no  trace  of  any  crystallized 
form  of  alumina  known  to  occur  in  the  geodes,  and  the  only  evidence 
of  its  presence,  in  any  form,  is  the  silicate  of  alumina,  occurring  as 
a  white  powder,  in  a  few  specimens. 

Usually,  the  geode  bed  is  destitute  of  fossils,  but  at  some  localities 
there  are  thin  bands  of  limestone  intercalated  in  it,  which  contain 
the  same  species  which  characterize  the  Keokuk  limestone  proper. 
The  geodiferous  character  also  pervades,  to  some  extent,  the  whole 
formation,  and  pockets  are  frequently  met  with,  in  the  limestone, 
lined  with  crystals  of  calcite. 

The  geode  bed  passes  into,  and  is  underlaid  by,  the  gray  lime- 
stone quarried  at  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  at  Hamilton,  Nauvoo  and 
Niota,  Hancock  county,  in  Illinois.  It  is  also  found  three  miles 
northeast  of  Quincy,  where  quarries  were  opened  to  furnish  material 
for  the  foundation  walls  of  Gov.  WOOD'S  mansion,  near  Quincy.  The 

*  The  following  note,  in  addition  to  the  report  of  Prof.  BRUSH,  was  received  too  late  to 
be  inserted  in  the  proper  place: 

"Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  received  from  Mr.  WOKTHEN  an  unbroken  geode 
containing  water.  A  portion  of  this  water,  weighing  16.327  grammes,  gave,  on  evapora- 
tion, a  crystalline  residue  weighing  .094  grammes,  which,  on  analysis,  proves  to  consist  of 
sulphate  of  lime  and  sulphate  of  magnesia,  with  minute  traces  of  silica.  Another  sample 
was  examined  for  carbonic  (acid)  with  a  negative  result."— G.  J.  B. 


76  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

rock  differs  from  the  Burlington  limestone,  which  is  quarried  in  the 
river  bluffs  at  Quincy,  in  its  darker  gray  color,  and  in  being  more 
free  from  chert.  Some  of  the  beds  are  nearly  of  the  color  of  com- 
mon granite,  and  all  are  considerably  darker  than  the  Burlington 
stone.  At  Nauvoo,  the  lower  beds,  which  were  quarried  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  "Mormon  Temple,"  are  lighter  than  the  higher  beds, 
but  still  are  a  few  shades  darker  than  the  quarry  rock  at  Quincy- 
The  limestone  beds  vary  in  thickness  from  six  inches  to  three  feet, 
and  are  often  separated  by  seams  of  blue  or  drab-colored  marly 
clay.  It  is  an  excellent  building  stone,  and  is  extensively  used  for 
foundation  walls,  for  lime-burning,  and  for  dressed  stone  for  orna- 
mental buildings.  The  Mormon  Temple,  which  was  entirely  con- 
structed of  this  stone,  was  the  most  imposing  building  ever  erected 
in  this  part  of  the  State,  the  outer  walls  being  of  cut  stone,  taken 
from  the  quarries  at  Nauvoo,  and  its  destruction  by  the  ruthless 
hand  of  the  incendiary  was  an  act  of  vandalism  to  be  regretted 
by  all. 

The  rock  has,  everywhere  in  Northern  Illinois,  a  crinoidal  struc- 
ture, almost  as  marked  as  that  of  the  Burlington  limestone,  from 
which  it  differs  in  color  and  in  the  specific  character  of  its  fossils. 
It  has  been  transported  by  water  to  Galena  and  Dubuque  for  the 
construction  of  the  United  States  Custom  Houses  at  those  points. 

Mr.  PRATTEN'S  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  the  Nauvoo  limestone 
gave  the  following  result : 

Carbonate  of  lime 82.48 

Alumina  and  iron 2 . 10 

Insoluble  matters 12.50 

Water  and  loss 2.92 

100.00 

Fossil  shells,  corals,  encrinites  and  bryozoans  of  many  beautiful 
and  varied  forms  are  abundant  in  the  debris  of  the  old  quarries  in 
this  limestone;  and  of  vertebrata,  it  has  afforded  nearly  as  many 
species,  and  three  times  the  number  of  individuals,  that  have  been 
obtained  from  all  the  other  members  of  the  Carboniferous  system. 
Forty-eight  -species  of  fossil  fishes  have  already  been  determined 
from  this  limestone,  and  will  be  found  described  in  the  second 
volume  of  the  original  Eeport,  nearly  all  of  which  have  been  obtained 
in  Hancock  county,  and  several  others  yet  remain  undetermined. 

Of  Crinoidea,  the  most  common  and  characteristic  species  of  this 
formation  are:  Agaricocrinus  Americanus,  A.  Wortheni,  Actinocrinus 
Mississippiensis,  A.  biturbinatus,  A.  NashvilUe  and  Platycrinus  Saffordi. 
Among  the  most  characteristic  shells  of  the  Keokuk  limestone  are 


KEOKUK    GROUP.  77 

the  following :  Spirifer  striatus,  S.  Keokuk,  S.  cuspidatus,  S.  lineatus, 
S.  neglectus,  Hemipronites  crenistria,  Productus  punctatus,  P.  semireti- 
culatus,  Platyceras  equilatera  and  P.  infundibulum.  Of  the  Corals  and 
Bryozoans,  the  most  common  are  Zaphrentis  Dalii,  commonly  known 
among  local  collectors  as  petrified  horns,  which  are  very  abundant  at 
some  localities,  and  Palceacis  obtusum.  Of  the  Bryozoans,  the 
Archimedes  Owenana  and  Semicoscinium  Keyserlingi  are  the  most 
common.  A  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  specific  characters  of 
the  above  named  fossils  will  enable  the  practical  geologist  to  identify 
the  Keokuk  limestone  wherever  it  may  come  under  his  observation, 
inasmuch  as  some  of  them  occur  in  this  formation  wherever  it  has 
been  found  exposed,  from  Northern  Illinois  to  Alabama. 

The  lowest  division  of  this  limestone  consists  of  thin  layers  of 
light  gray  limestone,  alternating  with  seams  of  chert  and  hornstone, 
the  latter  predominating  in  the  lower  part  of  the  bed,  forming  a 
complete  mass  of  cherty  material.  This  division  is  usually  about 
forty  feet  thick  in  Hancock  county,  and  is  well  exposed  on  Hyde's 
creek,  three  miles  above  Warsaw,  and  from  that  point  to  Nauvoo  it 
forms  the  lower  portion  of  the  bluffs,  and  also  extends  below  the 
river  bed,  forming  the  serious  impediment  to  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  known  as  the  Lower  Rapids.  Fossils  are  not  as  abundant 
in  this  division  as  in  the  one  above,  but  present  mainly  the  same 
specific  forms. 

These  separate  divisions  are  only  observable  along  the  north- 
western outcrops  of  this  formatiou,  from  the  north  line  of  Hancock 
county  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river,  and  the  adjacent  region 
in  Iowa  and  Missouri.  Below  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  the  geode 
bed  has  not  been  recognized  as  a  distinct  division  of  the  formation, 
and  in  its  southern  extension  the  cherty  character  predominates 
throughout  the  mass,  so  that  the  name  of  Siliceous  Group,  which  it 
has  received  in  Tennessee  and  Alabama,  is  quite  appropriate  to  this 
formation  in  that  region.  It  may  be  readily  identified,  however,  by 
paleontological  evidence,  whatever  changes  may  take  place  in  the 
lithological  character  of  the  rock.  The  thickness  of  this  formation 
in  Hancock  county  probably  does  not  much  exceed  110  to  120  feet, 
but  it  increases  in  thickness  towards  the  south,  so  that  in  Jersey 
county  it  is  about  180  to  200  feet,  and  in  Tennessee  its  maximum 
thickness  is  probably  not  less  than  500  feet. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  Illinois  coal  field,  near  Crawfordsville, 
in  Indiana,  this  limestone  is  represented  by  about  60  to  80  feet  of 
arenaceous  and  argillaceous  beds,  the  former  consisting  of  brown 
and  buff-colored  grit  stones,  which  are  underlaid  by  blue  argilla- 


78  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

ceous  shales  with  thin  plates  of  limestone.  The  plates  of  limestone, 
as  well  as  some  portions  of  the  clay  shale  and  grit  stones,  are  filled 
with  the  characteristic  fossils  of  this  formation,  among  which  are 
the  Agaricocrinus  Americanus,  Forbesiocrinus  Meekii  ?  with  several 
other  species  of  crinoidea  peculiar  to  this  locality,  and  these  are 
associated  with  Platyceras  equilatera,  P.  infundibulum,  Archimedes 
Owenana  Spirifer  cuspidatus  and  S.  sub-orbicularis,  which  clearly  estab- 
lish the  true  horizon  of  these  shales  and  sandstones  as  the  strati- 
graphical  equivalents  of  the  Keokuk  limestone  of  Illinois  and  Iowa. 

At  Williamsport,  on  the  Wabash,  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty 
miles  northwest  of  Crawfordsville,  the  Keokuk  limestone  is  repre- 
sented by  a  band  of  coarse  gray  limestone,  about  two  feet  in  thick- 
ness, intercalated  in  a  bed  of  green  sandy  shale,  which,  at  this 
locality,  lies  immediately  under  the  conglomerate  of  the  Coal  Meas- 
ures. The  band  of  limestone  is  not  more  than  15  or  20  feet  below 
the  conglomerate.  These  shales  pass  downward  into  a  shaly  sand- 
stone, which,  in  Northeastern  Indiana  and  Northern  Ohio,  is  known 
as  the  Waverly  sandstone. 

It  seems  evident,  from  the  facts  we  have  observed,  that  all  the 
lower  Carboniferous  limestones  become  arenaceous  on  the  north- 
eastern border  of  the  coal  field,  and  that  all  the  upper  members 
above  the  Kinderhook  group  thin  out  in  that  direction,  and  are 
replaced  by  the  grit  stones  forming  the  lowest  member  of  the  series ; 
-and  in  Ohio  these  grit  stones  occupy  the  entire  horizon  from  the 
conglomerate  to  the  "Black  slate." 

The  most  southerly  exposure  of  this  rock  in  Illinois  is  in  the 
vicinity  of  Elizabeth,  in  Hardin  county,  on  the  Ohio  river.  The 
lowest  beds  exposed  here  comprise  from  60  to  80  feet  of  thin-bedded 
cherty-gray  limestone,  which  is  overlaid  by  about  70  feet  of  massive 
limestone,  in  tolerably  regular  beds,  varying  in  thickness  from  one 
to  three  feet.  It  forms  the,  center  of  a  low  arch  along  the  river 
bluffs,  and  is  overlaid  a  short  distance  above  and  below  by  the  St. 
Louis  limestone.  The  full  thickness  of  the  formation  is  not  seen 
here,  and  therefore  cannot  be  accurately  determined ;  but  it  is 
probably  not  less  than  300  feet.  In  Tennessee,  it  constitutes  the 
Siliceous  Group  of  the  Tennessee  reports,  and  probably  attains  a 
thickness  of  from  four  to  five  hundred  feet,  and  directly  overlies  the 
Black  Slate  of  the  Devonian  system  in  that  region. 


BUKLINGTON  LIMESTONE.  79 

BUKLINGTON  LIMESTONE. 

This  formation  lies  immediately  below  the  Keokuk  limestone,  from 
which  it  is  separated  by  some  cherty  layers,  which  form  beds  of 
passage  from  one  limestone  formation  to  the  other.  The  upper  por- 
tion of  the  mass  is  the  most  calcareous,  and  consists  of  light-gray 
and  brown  crinoidal  limestone,  composed  almost  entirely  of  the 
remains  of  crinoids,  cemented  together  by  calcareous  matter.  The 
cleavage  of  the  rock  is  generally  through  the  joints  and  plates  of 
the  crinoidea,  and  this  gives  to  the  freshly  broken  surface  a  semi- 
crystalline  appearance.  The  thickness  of  the  mass  varies,  in  different 
portions  of  the  State,  from  twenty-five  to  about  two  hundred  feet. 

At  Burlington,  Iowa,  the  typical  locality  where  this  limestone  was 
first  studied,  and  its  peculiar  lithological  characters  determined,  the 
mass  is  easily  separated,  either  by  its  fossil  contents  or  lithological 
characters,  into  two  beds.  The  upper  bed  is  a  light  gray  or  nearly 
white  limestone,  with  some  brown  layers  inter- stratified,  and  when 
free  from  chert,  is  a  nearly  pure  carbonate  of  lime.  Its  most  char- 
acteristic fossils  are  Crinoidea,  of  which  the  following  are  the  most 
common  species  :  Actinocrinus  rotundus,  A.  Verneuilianus,  A.  oblatus, 
A.  Christyi,  A.  pyriformis,  and  Granatocrinus  Norwoodi.  In  addition 
to  these,  the  following  species  of  Brachiopoda  are  almost  always 
present  in  this  bed :  Spirifer  plenus,  S.  Grimesi,  Productus  semi- 
reticulatus  var.  Burlingtonensis,  and  Chonetes  Illinoiensis. 

The  lower  bed  is  usually  a  brown  magnesian  limestone,  locally 
arenaceous — sometimes  so  much  so  as  to  become  pulverulent,  and 
this  renders  the  rock  worthless  for  building  purposes.  Chert  and 
hornstone  are  abundant,  both  in  this  and  the  upper  bed,  and  occur 
both  in  seams  and  nodules.  The  following  species  of  Crinoidea  and 
Brachiopoda  are  most  abundant  in  the  lower  division  of  this  lime- 
stone:  Actinocrinus  unicornis,  A.  longirostris,  Granatocrinus  melo, 
Spirifer  Forbesii,  S.  imbrex,  and  Strophomena  analoga. 

The  most  northerly  outcrop  of  this  rock  known  in  Illinois  is  at 
Bald  Bluff,  near  the  north  line  of  Henderson  county,  where  there  is 
a  partial  exposure  of  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  of  this  lime- 
stone. The  whole  mass  exposed  here  is  a  brown  arenaceous  lime- 
stone, thin-bedded  and  full  of  cherty  nodules.  Like  all  the  other 
divisions  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series,  it  thins  out  to  the  north- 
ward, and  this  exposure  probably  exhibits  the  full  thickness  of  the 
bed  at  this  locality.  North  of  this  it  probably  will  not  be  found, 
unless  it  may  be  in  thin  outliers,  beneath  the  Coal  Measures.  From 


80  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Bald  Bluff  south  it  forms  the  main  portion  of  the  river  bluffs  to 
near  the  south  line  of  the  county,  where  it  dips  below  the  surface. 
It  also  outcrops  on  Henderson  river  and  Honey  creek,  in  this  county, 
where  it  presents  the  same  general  characters  as  at  the  typical 
locality,  and  is  extensively  quarried  at  various  points  for  building 
stone  and  for  lime  burning,  for  which  it  is  well  adapted.  It  is  also 
well  exposed  on  Cedar  creek,  in  Warren  county,  forming  the  bluffs 
of  that  stream  from  a  point  about  four  miles  northeast  of  Mon- 
mouth,  where  it  is  directly  overlaid  by  the  Coal  Measures,  to  the 
Mississippi  bluffs. 

Everywhere  along  its  northern  line  of  outcrop  this  limestone  is 
exceedingly  rich  in  fossils,  and  especially  so  in  Crinoidea;  and  it 
has  afforded  a  greater  number,  both  of  species  and  individuals, 
than  all  the  other  palaeozoic  rocks  of  this  continent  combined.  No 
spot  of  the  same  geographical  extent  has  yet  been  discovered,  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  where  these  beautiful  "lily  stars"  flourished 
in  such  numbers  as  along  the  northern  shores  of  the  lower  Carbon- 
iferous ocean,  during  the  deposit  of  this  limestone ;  and  nowhere 
else  have  their  remains  been  found  in  such  profusion,  or  in  such  a 
perfect  state  of  preservation,  as  in  this  rock.  Burlington,  Iowa,  and 
the  adjacent  region  in  Illinois,  where  this  limestone  is  exposed,  has 
become  classic  ground  among  all  lovers  of  geological  science 
throughout  the  civilized  world.  More  than  three  hundred  species 
have  already  been  described  from  this,  region,  and  many  new  ones 
are  still  being  discovered,  from  time  to  time,  and  yet  probably  not 
one  individual  in  every  hundred  that  lived  during  this  period  has 
been  preserved  in  such  a  condition  that  their  specific  characters  can 
now  be  determined. 

The  next  appearance  of  this  limestone  in  the  river  bluffs  is  in 
Adams  county,  a  few  miles  north  of  Quincy,  and  from  this  point  it 
forms  the  main  portion  of  the  bluff  to  the  south  line  of  the  county. 
At  Quincy  the  limestones  quarried  in  the  river  bluffs  are  the  equiv- 
alents of  the  upper  beds  at  Burlington,  and  present  similar  lithological 
characters,  and  contain  the  same  species  of  fossils.  It  is  a  light 
gray  crinoidal  limestone  with  some  buff-colored  layers,  the  beds 
varying  in  thickness  from  four  inches  to  two  feet,  with  considerable 
chert  and  hornstone  in  nodules  and  layers.  Some  of  the  white  beds 
are  a  nearly  pure  carbonate  of  lime,  and  are  quarried  extensively 
both  for  building  stones  and  lime  burning.  The  lower  beds  are  more 
calcareous  in  this  county  than  they  are  in  the  vicinity  of  Burlington, 
and  contain  comparatively  few  fossils.  On  Mill  creek,  six  miles 
below  Quincy,  the  lower  beds  are  well  exposed,  presenting  a  thickness 


BUELINGTON  LIMESTONE.  81 

of  about  forty  feet,  the  lower  twenty-five  of  which  consist  of  alternate 
beds  of  gray  and  brown  limestones,  somewhat  magnesian  in  their 
composition,  and  forming  an  excellent  building  stone.  The  massive 
character  and  firm  texture  of  the  rock  at  this  locality  renders  it 
admirably  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  heavy  masonry,  where  dimen- 
sion stone  of  considerable  size  and  of  great  firmness  are  required. 
Some  portions  of  the  mass  here  are  susceptible  of  a  fine  polish, 
and  might  be  used  as  an  ornamental  stone. 

Through  the  counties  of  Pike  and  Calhoun  this  limestone  forms 
the  upper  portion  of  the  river  bluffs,  as  far  south  as  Hamburg, 
below  which  point  it  is  replaced  by  the  Devonian  and  Silurian 
groups  down  to  the  lower  end  of  the  Cape  au  Gris  bluff,  where  it 
again  appears  by  the  dislocation  and  downthrow  of  the  strata.  Just 
below  this  bluff,  the  Burlington  limestone  appears,  tilted  up  to  a 
nearly  vertical  position,  but  the  exposure  is  scarcely  more  than  a 
hundred  yards  in  length,  when  it  disappears,  dipping  beneath  the 
higher  beds  of  the  series. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  Illinois  river  this  rock  makes  its  first 
appearance  in  the  river  bluffs  near  Glasgow,  in  Scott  county,  and 
from  that  point  down  to  where  the  Cap  au  Ores  axis  crosses  the 
Illinois,  five  miles  above  Mason's  Landing,  in  Jersey  county,  it  is 
found  continuously.  It  also  caps  the  bluffs  in  the  vicinity  of  Mason's 
Landing,  and  Graftori,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois ;  and  at  Jersey 
Landing,  about  five  miles  below,  it  forms  the  entire  bluff,  about  two 
hundred  feet  in  height,  and  probably  attains  here  its  maximum 
thickness  in  this  State.  Below  this  point  the  easterly  dip  of  the 
strata  carries  the  bed  rapidly  below  the  surface,  and  in  a  distance 
of  about  three  miles  it  disappears  entirely,  and  is  replaced  by  the 
overlying  formations.  Although  the  rock  still  preserves  its  crinoidal 
character  here,  and  seems  to  be  almost  entirely  composed  of  the 
joints  and  plates  of  crinoids,  it  is  rare  to  find  a  single  specimen  so 
well  preserved  that  its  specific  character  can  be  determined.  Shells 
are  far  more  abundant,  and  Productus  semi-reticulatus,  Spirifer  Grimesi 
S.  striatus,  S.  plenus,  and  Euomphalus  latus  are  quite  common. 

Its  next  appearance  in  the  river  bluffs  is  in  Monroe  county,  where 
it  forms  the  upper  portion  of  the  bluff  at  Salt  Lick  Point,  and  pre- 
sents the  same  lithological  characters  noticed  in  Jersey  county.  On 
the  south  side  of  the  axis  at  this  point  it  dips  rapidly  below  the 
surface,  and  is  not  known  to  appear  again  in  this  county.  Its  last 
outcrop  in  Southern  Illinois  is  at  Walker's  Hill,  in  Jackson  county, 
where'  it  appears  overlying  the  Devonian  strata  at  the  lower  end  of 
—6 


82  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  hill,  with  a  hidden  slope  of  considerable  thickness  between  them. 
The  rock  is  here  a  massive,  brown,  impure  limestone,  the  lowest  bed 
exposed  being  a  compact  redish-gray  crystalline  limestone,  the  upper 
beds  being  of  a  yellowish-brown  color,  closely  resembling  some  of 
the  brown  layers  in  the  lower  bed  at  the  typical  locality.  It  dips 
rapidly  to  the  northeast,  and  is  soon  lost  beneath  the  overlying  lime- 
stones which  form  the  middle  and  upper  end  of  the  hill.  Below  this 
point  it  has  not  yet  been  recognized  in  this  State ;  and  although  the 
horizon  at  which  it  should  appear  is  exposed  in  Union  and  Hardin 
counties,  it  has  not  yet  been  identified  in  that  region,  and  its  true 
place  in  the  sequence  of  the  strata  appears  to  be  occupied  by  the 
Keokuk  division  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series.  We  have  also 
examined  some  points  in  Tennessee,  Kentucky  and  Southern  Indiana 
where  the  proper  horizon  of  this  limestone  was  exposed,  but  found 
nothing  that  could  properly  be  referred  to  it,  and  it  probably  thins 
out  in  a  southerly  direction  before  reaching  the  Ohio  river.  At 
White's  Creek  Springs  in  Tennessee,  where  the  junction  of  the  lower 
Carboniferous  limestone  with  the  black  slate  of  the  Devonian  series 
is  plainly  seen,  the  silicious  shales  which  rest  directly  upon  the  black 
slate  are  evidently  of  the  same  age  with  the  Keokuk  limestone,  and 
show  the  entire  absence  in  that  region  of  both  the  Burlington  lime- 
stone and  the  Kinderhook  group. 

This  limestone  formation  is  a  very  important  one,  both  for  the 
amount  of  excellent  building  stone  which  it  affords,  as  well  as  an 
inexhaustible  supply  of  limestone  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of 
quicklime,  and  in  these  respects  its  value  is  not  excelled  by  any 
member  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestone  series  of  equal  thick- 
ness. It  also  gives  origin  to  a  great  number  of  excellent  and  never- 
failing  springs  of  fine  limestone  water,  which  percolate  through  the 
fissures  and  caverns  in  the  strata,  and  find  their  outlet  along  the 
river  bluffs,  especially  along  the  line  of  junction  between  the  lime- 
stone and  the  shales  of  the  Kinderhook  group  which  underlie  it. 

But  it  is  to  the  naturalist  who  is  searching  into  the  hidden  mys- 
teries of  a  bygone  creation  that  this  formation  is  of  peculiar  interest: 
Its  limestone  strata  are  made  up  of  the  remains  of  the  millions  of 
extinct  organic  beings  that  lived  and  flourished  during  its  formation, 
and  hundreds  of  species,  the  representatives  of  an  extinct  creation, 
may  be  disentombed  from  their  limestone  sepulchres,  where  they 
have  been  inclosed  for  untold  ages,  in  a  condition  so  perfect  that  their 
form  and  structure  may  be  as  accurately  determined  by  the  skillful 
paleontologist,  as  though  they  had  perished  but  yesterday.  It  thus 
presents  for  our  investigation  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  important 


KINDEEHOOK    GROUP.  83 

links  in  the  grand  chain  of  organic  creation,  which,  if  we  com- 
mence with  the  present  existing  races,  and  with  man,  as  the  highest 
type  of  all,  goes  simultaneously  backward  in  the  scale  of  time,  and 
downward  in  the  scale  of  organic  development,  until  it  finally  ends 
in  the  metamorphic  strata  of  the  Laurentian  series,  with,  so  far  as 
known,  a  single  species,  and  that  belonging  to  the  lowest  known 
type  of  animal  life. 

Mr.  PBATTEN'S  analyses  of  two  specimens  of  this  limestone,  from 
Quincy,  gave  the  following  results : 

1. — White  Limestone. 

Carbonate  of  lime 94.68 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 4.31 

Alumina  and  iron 0.20 

Insoluble  matters 0.05 

Water  and  loss 0.76. 

100.00 

This  it  will  be  seen  is  a  nearly  pure  carbonate  of  lime,  and  is  an 
excellent  material  for  the  manufacture  of  quicklime. 

2. — Brown  Limestone. 

Carbonate  of  lime 71.00 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 24.00 

Iron  and  alumina 4.00 

Insoluble  matters „.„.. 1.00 

100.00 

This  specimen  approaches  nearer  to  a  hydraulic  limestone,  but  has 
lime  in  excess,  and  is  too  deficient  in  alumina  and  iron  to  constitute 
a  good  hydraulic  rock. 

The  Burlington  limestone  has  not  yet  been  recognized  beyond  the 
States  of  Iowa,  Illinois  and  Missouri ;  and  on  the  eastern  and  southern 
borders  of  the  Illinois  coal  field,  no  calcareous  beds  have  yet  been  found 
occupying  the  horizon  to  which  this  limestone  properly  belongs.  Its 
decomposition  upon  the  surface  forms  a  reddish  brown  marl,  that' 
constitutes  a  soil  of  unsurpassed  fertility,  admirably  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  every  variety  of  fruit  suited  to  the  climate. 


KINDEBHOOK   GROUP. 

This  name  was  proposed  by  Mr.  MEEK  and  the  writer,  in  a  paper 
communicated  to  the  American  Journal  of  Science,  and  published 
in  Vol.  XXXII,  No.  95,  for  Sept.,  1861,  and  was  designed  to  include 
all  the  beds  from  the  base  of  the  Burlington  limestone  to  the  top  of 


84  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

the  Black  Slate.  These  beds  comprise  a  thickness  varying,  in  differ- 
ent localities,  from  one  to  two  hundred  feet,  and  consist  of  grit 
stones,  sandy  and  argillaceous  shales,  with  thin  beds  of  fine  grained 
and  oolitic  limestones,  and  constitute  what  we  regard  as  the  lowest 
division  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series. 

This  group  includes  the  Choteau  limestone,  the  Lithographic  lime- 
stone, and  the  Vermicular  sandstone  and  shales  of  the  Missouri 
Report,  the  so-called  Chemung  rocks  of  the  Iowa  report,  that  part 
of  the  Waverly  sandstone  of  Ohio  which  overlies  the  Black  slate  of 
that  region,  and  the  Goniatite  limestone  of  Eockford,  Indiana.  The 
reference  of  these  beds  to  the  horizon  of  the  Chemung  group,  of  New 
York,  was  made  purely  on  lithological  grounds,  none  of  those  advo- 
cating their  synchronism  contending  that  any  of  the  fossils  found  in 
these  beds  could  be  specially  identified  beyond  doubt,  as  common  to 
the  two  formations,  but  on  the  contrary  they  all  admitted  their  gen- 
eral dissimilarity  in  specific  characters,  and  the  strongly  marked 
carboniferous  aspect  of  those  obtained  from  this  group  at  western 
localities. 

All  the  early  Western  geologists,  including  Dr.  D.  D.  OWEN,  Dr. 
NORWOOD,  and  Mr  PRATTEN,  regarded  these  beds  as  lower  Carbon, 
iferous,  and  Mr.  VERNEUIL,  who  examined  a  collection  of  fossils  from 
this  horizon,  while  exploring  the  geological  formations  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley,  during  his  visit  some  years  since  to  the  United  States, 
expressed  unhesitatingly  the  same  opinion;  and  until  the  examina- 
tion of  these  beds  by  Prof.  HALL,  on  his  first  visit  to  the  West,  their 
lower  Carboniferous  age  had,,  scarcely  been  called  in  question.  As 
already  remarked,  the  supposed  equivalency  of  these  beds  with  the 
upper  Devonian  or  Chemung  beds  of  New  York,  was  placed  entirely 
on  stratigraphical  and  lithological  grounds,  while  not  a  single  spe- 
cies of  fossil  remains  was  positively  identified  as  common  to  the 
New  York  and  Western  localities. 

The  Goniatite  limestone  of  Eockford,  Indiana,  consists  of  a  thin 
bed  of  limestone  overlaid  by  two  or  three,  feet  of  calcareo-argilla- 
ceous  shales  resting  upon  the  Black  slate,  and  underlying  the  heavy 
beds  of  grit  stones  and  shale  which  are  well  exposed  a  few  miles  to 
the  westward  of  that  locality.  This  Goniatite  bed,  with  the  under- 
lying Black  slate,  was  referred  by  Prof.  HALL,  about  December,  18 .0, 
in  the  13th  No.  of  the  New  York  Eegent's  Eeport,  to  the  horizon  of 
the  Marcellus  shale,  at  the  base  of  the  Hamilton  group  (a  still 
lower  member  of  the  Devonian  series)  mainly  from  the  fact  of  its 
containing  Goniatites  in  considerable  numbers.  Upon  the  publication 
of  our  paper,  however,  of  September,  1861,  showing  that  it  could  not 


K1NDERHOOK   GROUP.  85 

be  of  the  age  of  the  Hamilton  group,  as  it  holds  a  position  above 
the  Black  slate,  which  latter  rests  upon  the  Hamilton  group  in  Illi- 
nois, Prof.  HALL  issued  a  supplementary  note  to  the  15th  Regent's 
report,  referring  this  bed  to  the  horizon  of  the  Chemung,  as  he  had 
equivalent  strata  in  Iowa.  Two  species  of  the  Goniatite  found  at 
this  locality  were  pronounced  by  Mr.  VERNEUIL  as  identical  with  well 
known  European  carboniferous  species,  while  the  fossils  associated 
with  them  were  more  closely  allied  to  carboniferous  than  to  any 
known  Devonian  forms.  With  these  facts  before  us,  we  could  not 
hesitate  to  consider  this  Goniatite  bed  and  its  equivalent,  the  Choteau 
limestone  of  Missouri,  as  distinct  from  any  recognized  member  of  the 
Devonian  series,  and  the  whole  group  as  being  of  lower  Carboniferous, 
instead  of  Devonian  age. 

A  good  detailed  section  of  the  several  members  of  this  group  may 
be  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  Burlington,  Iowa,  where  the  following  sec- 
tion in  the  descending  order  from  the  base  of  the  Burlington  lime- 
stone is  seen : 

Oolitic  limestone 3  to    5  feet 

Gritstone 4  to    6    " 

Compact  thin  bedded  limestone 8  to  10    " 

Oolitic  limestone 0  to    0    "    6  in. 

Gritstones  and  shales . 25  to  30    " 

The  shales  at  the  base  of  this  section  extend  below  the  level  of 
the  river,  and  are  said  to  have  been  penetrated  in  a  boring  at  Oquawka 
junction,  in  Henderson  county,  Illinois,  to  the  depth  of  more  than  a 
hundred  feet,  making  the  entire  thickness  of  the  group  in  this  region 
not  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  These  beds  outcrop  for 
some  distance  along  the  bluffs  in  Henderson  county,  but  are  more 
or  less  hidden  by  the  talus  of  the  sloping  hills.  They  rapidly  disin- 
tegrate on  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  and  are  therefore  of  little 
value  for  building  purposes.  The  oolitic  bed  has  been  extensively 
used  in  the^  city  of  Burlington  as  a  curbing  stone  for  the  construc- 
tion of  sidewalks,  but  it  invariably  splits  into  thin  plates  when 
exposed  to  the  action  of  frost  and  water,  and  has  to  be  sooner  or 
later  replaced  by  some  more  durable  material. 

At  Kinderhook,  in  Pike  county,  where  this  group  was  first  exam- 
ined in .  the  prosecution  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,  the 
oolitic  bands  are  wanting,  and  the  upper  member  of  the  group  is  a 
fine-grained  limestone,  from  five  to  ten  feet  thick,  underlaid  by  shales 
and  grit  stones  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  in  thickness,  extending 
below  the  level  of  the  Mississippi  bottoms. 


I 

86  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Hamburg,  in  Calhoun  county,  the  lower  part  of 
the  river  bluff  is  formed  by  this  group,  affording  the  following  sec- 
tion: 

Green  arenaceous  and  argillaceous  shales 60  to  70  feet 

Shelly  oolitic  limestone 8  to  10   " 

Compact  fine-grained  limestone 15  to  20   " 

'  At  Grafton,  in  Jersey  county,  this  group  is  represented  by  fifty 
feet  or  more  of  ashen-gray  impure  limestones,  sometimes  magnesian, 
in  part,  with  marly  partings  between  the  beds.  Five  miles  below 
Grafton  these  beds  measure  eighty-five  feet  in  thickness,  and  at  the 
base  of  the  limestones  are  shelly  and  argillaceous.  The  beds  in  this 
and  some  of  the  adjoining  counties  contain  nodules  of  crystallized 
carbonate  of  lime,  with  a  more  or  less  siliceous  crust,  resembling 
geodes  in  their  external  appearance,  but  contain  no  cavity  within. 
A  few  fossils  were  obtained  from  these  beds  in  Jersey  county,  but 
Uiey  are  not  abundant.  Among  them  we  identify  Productus  semi- 
reticulatus,  Spirifer  Grimesi,  S.  Vernonense,  Athyris  Prouti,  and  an 
undetermined  Gomphoceras  and  a  Goniatite. 

At  Salt  Lick  Point,  in  Monroe  county,  this  group  is  again  seen  in 
the  river  bluffs,  affording  the  following  section: 

Ash-colored  shaly  limestone 20  feet 

Brick-red  and  variegated  shales 24   " 

Slope,  with  outcrops  of  argillaceous  shale 84   " 

No  fossils  were  found  in  the  lower  part  of  the  above  section,  but 
the  upper  divisions  afforded  Actinocrinus  pistilliformis,  Spirifer 
Grimesi,  S.  Vernonense,  'Athyris  Hannibalensis,  Productus  semi-reticu- 
latus  and  Palaeacis  enorme. 

In  Union  county  we  find  this  group  represented,  about  two  miles 
\\est  of  Jonesboro,  by  a  hundred  feet  or  more  in  thickness  of  varie- 
gated shales.  These  shales  are  siliceous,  and  contain  nodules  and 
seams  of  chert  in  considerable  quantities.  These  beds  also  appear 
in  Hardin  county,  two  miles  north  of  Martha  Furnace,  presenting 
similar  characters;  and  at  both  these  localities  they  rest  directly 
upon  the  black  slate,  and  are  overlaid  by  the  more  calcareous  divi- 
sions of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series. 

The  addition  of  this  group  to  the  Carboniferous  system  of  the 
West  gives  to  it  the  same  general  features  which  characterize  this 
system  in  Europe,  and  which  it  holds  in  common  with  the  other 
great  divisions  of  the  Palaeozoic  series.  We  have,  at  the  base,  a 
fragmentary  series  composed  of  sandstones  and  shales,  the  debris  of 
pre-existing  formations ;  in  the  middle,  calcareous  and  highly  fossil- 
iferous  beds,  representing  the  higher  divisions  of  the  lower  Carbon- 


KINDERHOOK   GEOUP.  87 

iferous  series;  and  ending,  in  the  [ascending  scale,  with  another 
fragmentary  series  comprising  the  sandstones  and  shales  of  the  Coal 
Measures.  Prof.  DAWSON  aptly  remarks,  in  his  annual  address  as 
President  of  the  Natural  History  Society  of  Montreal,  in  speaking  .of 
the  Laurentian  system  of  Canada,  "that  the  grand  order  of  succes- 
sion, in  the  older  member  of  the  Laurentian  system  of  rocks,  seems 
to  be  the  same  with  that  so  often  represented  in  other  parts  of  the 
geological  scale.  First,  a  coarse  fragmentary  series,  represented  by 
conglomerate  and  gneiss ;  next,  a  calcareous  division  represented  by 
the  eozoon  limestones;  next,  a  finer  earthy  series,  represented  by 
dioritic  rocks.  This  brings  the  Laurentian  into  a  cycle  somewhat 
similar  to  that  of  Potsdam  sandstone,  the  Chazy  and  Trenton  lime- 
stones and  the  Utica  slate,  and  the  Hudson  river,  in  the  lower  Silu- 
rian; or  to  that  of  the  Medina  sandstone,  the  Niagara  limestone 
and  lower  Helderberg,  in  the  upper  Silurian ;  or  to  that  of  the  lower 
Carboniferous  conglomerates  and  sandstones,  the  Carboniferous  lime- 
stones, and  the  Coal  Measures  of  the  Carboniferous  period."  "This 
recurrence  of  cycles,"  continues  Prof.  D.,  "of  deposit  cannot  be  acci- 
dental. It  is  more  or  less  to  be  seen  throughout  the  geological  scale 
and  in  all  countries  ;  and,  as  I  have  elsewhere  pointed  out,  it  includes 
numerous  subordinate  cycles  within  the  same  formation,  as  in  the 
Coal  Measures.  EATON,  HUNT  and  DANA  have  called  attention  to  it, 
but  it  deserves  a  more  careful  study  as  a  means  of  settling  the 
sequence  of  oscillations  of  land  and  water  in  connection  with  the 
succession  of  life.  It  will  also  be  important  in  giving  fixity  to  our 
geological  classifications,  and  may  eventually  aid  in  establishing 
more  precise  views  of  the  dynamics  of  geology  and  the  lapse  of 
geological  time.  The  .progress  of  the  earth  has,  like  most  other  kinds 
of  progress,  been  not  by  a  continuous  evolution,  but  by  a  series  of 
cycles,  of  great  summers  and  winters,  or  days  and  nights  of  physical 
and  vital  change,  in  each  of  which  all  things  seem  to  revolve  back 
to  the  place  of  beginning,  only  to  begin  a  new  cycle,  or  a  new  turn 
of  the  spiral,  similar  to  the  last  in  its  general  course,  though  alto- 
gether different  in  its  details,  accompaniments  and  results." 

Fossils  are  quite  abundant  in  this  group  at  some  localities,  and. 
exceedingly  rare  at  others.  In  the  arenaceous  beds  they  are  gener- 
ally found  in  the  form  of  casts,  the  substance  of  the  organism 
having  been  dissolved  and  removed  by  the  leaching  of  the  beds,  or 
the  action  of  the  acids  with  which  they  are  impregnated.  In  the 
calcareous  beds  they  are  often  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  In 
the  compact  bluish-drab  limestone,  called  Lithographic  limestone, 
in  the  Missouri  Eeport,  the  fossils  are  frequently  found  in  pockets 


88  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

in  the  limestone,  which  are  partly  filled  with  a  red  marly  clay,  the 
residue  of  the  decomposed  limestone.  The  oolitic  beds  are  also 
highly  fossiliferous,  and  afford  many  species  in  a  well  preserved 
condition.  The  Lithographic  limestone  was  so  named  in  Missouri, 
from  its  general  resemblance  to  the  celebrated  German  stone  used 
in  lithography ;  but  as  the  name  was  already  appropriated  to  desig- 
nate a  rock  holding  an  entirely  different  geological  position  in 
Europe,  it  seems  proper  to  discard  it  for  some  other  not  already  in 
use.  It 'is  usually  of  a  light  bluish-gray  or  dove  color,  weathering 
to  a  drab,  and  is  thinly  bedded,  the  layers  varying  from  two  to 
eight  inches  in  thickness.  It  is  intersected  by  seams  or  crevices  at 
right  angles  to  the  line  of  stratification,  and  large  slabs  are  rarely 
obtained.  It  appears  to  be  a  durable  stone  for  foundation  walls, 
and  will  probably  make  a  good  quicklime,  as  it  affords,  on  analysis, 
about  90  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  with  about  8  per  cent,  of 
silica  and  magnesia.  It  breaks  with  a  smooth  conchoidal  fracture, 
and  contains  fine  crystals  of  Iceland  spar,  with  small  quantities  of 
crystallized  zinc  blende. 

The   grit    stones  of   this   group  are    often   perforated   with   small* 
cylindrical   holes,  like   the  borings  of   a    Teredo   in   wood,  giving  a 
worm-eaten  appearance  to  the  weathered  portions  of  the  rock. 

These  probably  resulted  from  the  decomposition  of  the  cylindrical 
stems  of  marine  plants  with  which  the  rock  was  filled.  A  fucoides, 
like  the  so-called  F.  cauda  galli  of  the  Devonian  rocks,  is  quite 
abundant  at  some  localities  in  this  bed.  Some  of  the  beds  have  the 
aspect  of  a  hydraulic  limestone,  but,  on  analysis,  prove  to  be  defi- 
cient in  lime. 

This  group  has  its  greatest  development  along  the  western  borders 
of  the  State,  in  the  counties  of  Henderson,  Pike,  Calhoun  and  Jer- 
sey, where  its  general  thickness  is  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to 
two  hundred  feet.  To  the  north  it  has  not  been  met  with  beyond 
the  north  line  of  Henderson  county,  and  it  no  doubt  thins  out  in 
that  vicinity  with  the  other  members  of  the  lower  Carboniferous 
series.  In  the  southern  portion  of  the  State  it  is  represented  by  a 
single  bed  of  silicious  shale,  and  in  the  more  southerly  extension  of 
the  lower  Carboniferous  formation  in  Tennessee  and  Alabama  it  is 
merged  in  the  Siliceous  group  of  Prof.  SAFFORD,  which  includes  all 
the  lower  Carboniferous  divisions  from  the  St.  Louis  limestone  to 
the  base  of  the  series. 

Before  closing  our  remarks  on  this  group,  we  may  say  that  three 
species  of  fossil  fish  have  been  described  from  this  horizen :  Helodus 


KINDEEHOOK    GROUP.  89 

biformis,  H.  placenta  and  Orodus  multicarinatus,  *all  of  which  are  of 
strongly  marked  carboniferous  types.  The  two  first-named  species 
were  obtained  from  the  grit  stones  at  Burlington,  Iowa,  and  the 
last  from  the  Goniatite  limestone  at  Eockford,  Indiana. 

Crystals  of  calcite  and  dolomite  are  frequently  met  with,  filjing 
pockets  in  the  Burlington  and  St.  Louis  limestones,  and  the  former 
also  occurs  in  fine  crystallizations  in  the  calcareous  beds  of  the 
Kinderhook  group. 

The  curious  forms  known  as  stylolites  are  frequently  met  in  the 
Burlington  limestone,  sometimes  penetrating  the  strata  to  the  depth 
of  several  inches,  and  always  at  right  angles  to  the  line  of  bedding. 
They  consist  of  a  series  of  parallel  columns  or  flutings  in  the  strata, 
the  opposite  surfaces  fitting  into  each  other  along  a  zigzag  line  like 
the  sutures  of  the  human  skull,  which  has  suggested  to  Prof.  SWAL- 
LOW the  name  suture  joints.  Sir  WILLIAM  LOGAN,  in  the  Canada  Ee- 
port,  suggests  that  they  may  have  resulted  from  the  crystallization 
of  soda,  which  crystals  were  subsequently  dissolved,  and  the  moulds 
filled  by  the  sediment  that  formed  the  succeeding  layer ;  but  it  seems 
quite  as  probable  that  they  were  formed  by  the  slipping  or  pressing 
together  of  the  material,  under  great  pressure,  while  in  a  plastic 
state.  Similar  markings  may  be  seen  in  the  blue  plastic  clay  under 
Lake  Michigan,  through  which  the  tunnel  at  Chicago  is  now  being 
constructed.  These  so-called  stylolites  sometimes  occur  in  the 
St.  Louis  limestone,  though  rarely.  In  the  Burlington  limestone 
they  are  quite  common. 

The  entire  group  of  lower  Cfarboniferous  limestones,  with  the 
argillaceous  and  arenaceous  shales  and  sandstones  that  are  asso- 
ciated with  them  and  form  a  part  of  the  series,  attain  a  thickness 
of  not  less  than  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  on  the  southwestern 
borders  of  the  Illinois  coal  field,  where  they  are  fully  developed; 
but  they  thin  out  rapidly  towards  the  north,  and  entirely  disappear 
before  reaching*  Eock  Island  county,  leaving  the  Coal  Measures 
resting  directly  upon  the  Devonian  limestone.  On  the  southeastern 
borders  of  the  coal  field  we  find  that  the  only  calcareous  division 
developed  in  Floyd  county,  Indiana,  is  the  St.  Louis  limestone, 
which  is  exposed  about  three  miles  west  of  New  Providence.  It 
consists  of  about  fifty  feet  or  more  of  gray  limestones  and  calcareous 
shales,  the  upper  part  being  a  massive  gray  limestone,  similar  to 

*  Since  this  was  written,  26  new  species  of  flsh  teeth  and  spines  have  been  figured  and 
described  in  Vol.  6  of  the  original  Reports,  from  this  group,  and  a  number  more  will  be 
described  and  figured  in  Vol.  7,  now  in  preparation. 


90  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

that  at  Bedford.*  These  limestones  are  underlaid  by  brown  shales, 
containing  geodes  and  nodules  of  hornstone,  which  undoubtedly 
represent  the  horizon  of  the  geodiferous  shales  that  constitute  the 
upper  division  of  the  Keokuk  group. 

These  geodiferous  shales  are  underlaid  by  the  grit  stones  that 
constitute  what  has  heretofore  been  known  as  the  Knob  formation 
of  Southern  Indiana,  and  they  contain,  at  this  locality,  numerous 
fossils,  among  which  are  Spirifer  cuspidatus,  Hemipronites  crenistria, 
Productus  semi-reticulatus,  Orthis  Michelini,  and  various  other  forms 
characteristic  of  the  Keokuk  limestone  at  other  localities.  These 
grit  stones  probably  attain  a  thickness  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
or  more,  and  rest  directly  on  the  Black  slate  of  the  Devonian  series. 

From  New  Providence  northward,  along  the  line  of  the  railroad 
from  New  Albany  to  Lafayette,  continued  alternations  of  the  St. 
Louis  limestone  with  these  grit  stones  may  be  seen,  and  the  road 
passes  successively  from  the  outcrop  of  one  formation  to  the  other, 
to  Crawfordsville,  where  the  Keokuk  group  is  represented  by  about 
thirty  feet  of  blue  argillaceous  shales,  overlaid  by  from  thirty  to 
forty  feet  of  thin-bedded  brown  sandstone,  filled  with  the  character- 
istic fossils  of  this  group. 

The  next  point  north  of  Crawfordsville,  where  we  have  been  able 
to  examine  the  beds  underlying  the  conglomerate,  is  along  the  line 
of  the  Toledo,  Wabash  and  Great  Western  Eailroad,  near  Williams- 
port,  Indiana.  The  conglomerate  that  forms  the  base  of  the  Coal 
Measures  is  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  thick  at  this  point,  and  is  under- 
laid first  by  about  thirty  feet  of  greenish- colored  shale  and  shaly 
sandstone ;  second,  by  a  band  of  coarse-grained  greenish-gray  lime- 
stone, containing  Productus  semi-reticulatus,  P.  punctatus,  Hemipronites 
crenistria,  and  Spirifer  lineatus,  with  joints  of  crinoidea  in  abundance, 
and  presenting  the  general  aspect  of  the  crinoidal  beds  of  the  Keokuk 
limestone.  This  band  of  limestone  is  underlaid  by  thin-bedded 
sandstones  exactly  resembling  the  Waverly  sandstone  of  northern 
Ohio,  and  these  constitute  the  only  rocks  exposed  on  this  route 
from  the  Wabash  river  to  the  Devonian  slates  east  of  Lafayette. 
These  grit  stones  are,  no  doubt,  the  equivalents  of  our  Kinderhook 
group,  the  only  division  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series  that 
extends  into  Northern  Ohio  and  Northwestern  Indiana,  and  consti- 
tute all  of  the  so-called  Waverly  sandstone  above  the  Black  slate 
of  the  Devonian  series. 

*  The  lower  layers  of  this  limestone  contain  several  species  of  the  small  fossils  that  are 
found  so  abundant  at  Spergen  Hill,  among  which  are  Orthis  dubia  and  Pentreimtes 
conoideus. 


HENDEESON     GROUP.  91 

Whether  or  not  there  is  a  bed  of  sandstone  in  Northern  Ohio 
which  may  represent  the  Chemung  group  of  New  York,  is  a  que  stion 
that  we  leave  for  the  decision  of  those  who  are  especially  interested 
in  working  out  the  geological  structure  of  that  State ;  but  so  far  as 
relates  to  the  formations  that  underlie  the  Illinois  coal  field,  we  fee* 
fully  justified  in  the  assertion  that  there  are  no  beds,  either  in 
Western  Indiana  or  Illinois,  that  can,  with  any  degree  of  propriety, 
be  considered  equivalent  to  the  Chemung  group  of  New  York,  and 
that  those  that  have  been  so  referred  in  the  geological  reports  of 
Missouri,  Iowa  and  Michigan,  really  belong  to  the  Carboniferous 
and  not  to  the  Devonian  system. 


92  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


CHAPTER    IY. 

DEVONIAN  AND  SILUEIAN  SYSTEMS. 

DEVONIAN. 

BLACK  SLATE. 

Immediately  underlying .  the  Kinderhook  group,  we  find,  in  Southern 
Illinois,  a  series  of  dark  blue,  green  or  chocolate-colored  shales, 
passing  locally  into  a  black  bituminous  shale,  to  which  the  above 
name  was  applied  by  the  early  investigators  in  Western  Geology. 
It  rests  directly  upon  the  Hamilton  limestone,  and  is  probably  the 
stratigraphical  equivalent  of  the  Erie  shale  of  Ohio.  It  has  afforded 
but  a  single  species  of  fossil  shells,  a  Lingula  described  in  Vol.  8  of 
the  Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,  page  437,  under  the  specific  name 
of  Lingula  subspatulata,  and  illustrated  on  plate  13,  fig*  1,  of  the 
same  volume. 

Its  thickness  varies,  in  different  localities,  from  sixty. to  seventy 
feet,  and  where  highly  bituminous  it  resembles  so  closely  the  black 
shales  of  the  Coal  Measures,  that  search  has  been  made  in  it  for 
coal  at  almost  every  locality  in  the  State  where  its  outcrop  occurs. 
By  referring  to  the  general  section,  however,  it  may  be  seen  that 
it  lies  more  than  a  thousand  feet  below  the  Coal  Measures,  where 
the  lower  Carboniferous  limestones  are  in  full  force,  and  must  con- 
sequently always  underlie  all  the  true  coal-bearing  strata,  even 
where  the  above  named  limestones  are  not  developed. .  It  outcrops 
in  Jackson,  Union  and  Hardin  counties,  and  attains  its  maximum 
thickness  only  in  the  Southern  part  of  the  State.  Nodules  of  sul- 
phurejt  of  iron  are  common  in  the  argillaceous  portions  of  this  bed, 
at  some  localities. 

This  formation  occupies  the  horizon  of  one  of  the  great  oil  pro- 
ducing zones  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  but  the  bituminous  beds 


DEVONIAN   LIMESTONE.  93 

are  too  thin  in  this  State  to  promise  any  considerable  yield  of  oil, 
and  it  has,  so  far  as  we  have  observed,  afforded  no  oil  springs  or 
other  surface  indications  of  «oil  where  it  outcrops  in  Illinois.  The 
highly  bituminous  portions  of  the  bed,  however,  will  no  doubt  yield 
a  large  amount  of  oil  by  distillation,  and  it  may  also  answer  for 
the  manufacture  of  patent  roofing,  in  the  place  of  common  roofing 
slate.  No  fossils,  except  the  Lingula  above-named,  have  yet  been 
obtained  from  it  in  Illinois.  In  Hardin  county,  this  slate  forms  the 
nucleus  of  an  anticlinal  axis,  and  appears  to  have  been  partially 
altered  by  metamorphic  action. 

DEVONIAN   LIMESTONE. 

Immediately  below  the  Black  Slate  we  find  in  Illinois  a  series  of 
limestones  and  calcareous  shales,  varying  in  thickness  from  ten  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  that  appears,  from  paleontological 
evidence,  to  represent  the  Hamilton  group  of  New  York,  though  con- 
taining some  fossils  which  in  that  State  are  characteristic  of  the 
Corniferous  limestone  as  well ;  and  it  seems  quite  probable  that  they 
are  really  the  Western  representatives  of  both  these  formations. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  State  this  group  is  first  met  with  in 
Rock  Island  county,  where  it  outcrops,  both  oA  the  Mississippi  and 
Eock  rivers,  from  a  point  about  1£  miles  below  Hampton,  where  it 
first  appears  on  the  Mississippi,  to  the  south  line  of  the  county; 
and  on  Rock  river  it  extends  from  a  point  about  equally  far  north 
to  the  mouth  of  that  stream.  It  is  here  overlaid  unconformably  by 
the  Coal  Measures,  both  the  Black  slate  and  the  lower  Carboniferous 
limestone  series  .being  absent.  Where  fully  developed,  it  may  be 
sub-divided  into  three  distinct  beds,  as  is  the  case  in  this  county. 
The  upper  bed  is  a  light-gray  limestone,  filled  with  fossil  corals, 
among  which  are  Acervularia  Davidsoni,  Phillipsastrea  Verneuili,  and 
an'  Alveolites,  perhaps  A.  Goldfussii  of  BILLINGS.  Below  this  lime- 
stone there  is  a  bed  of  brown  calcareous  shale,  filled  to  repletion 
with  fossil  shells  at  some  localities,  as  in  the  quarries  between  Rock 
Island  and  Moline,  among  which  the  Orthis  lowensis,  Strophodonta 
demissa  and  Spirifer  pinnatus  are  the  most  common. 

This  shale  is  underlaid  in  this  vicinity  by  a  light  bluish-gray  or 
dove-colored  limestone,  irregularly  bedded  and  concretionary  in 
structure,  and  quite  destitute  of  fossils,  except  in  the  upper  layers, 
near  its  junction  with  the  shales,  where  it  contains  Phillipsastrea 
Verneuili,  Alveolites  and  Atrypa  reticularis.  This  bed  is  a  nearly  pure 
carbonate  of  lime,  and  is  extensively  quarried  in  the  vicinity  of 


94  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Kock  Island,  for  the  manufacture  of  quick-lime.  Its  thickness  above 
the  low  water  level  of  the  river  is  about  twenty-five  feet.  The  out- 
crop of  these  limestones  in  this  country  is  confined  to  the  bluffs 
and  valleys  of  the  streams  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  and 
on  the  highlands  they  are  hidden  by  the  overlying  Coal  Measures 
and  Quaternary  deposits. 

In  addition  to  the  fossils  above  named,  the  following  are  also  to 
be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Kock  Island:  Atrypa  aspera,  Orthis  sub- 
orbicularis,  O.  Vanuxemi,  Strophomena  lepida,  S.  fragilis,  Productus 
subalatus,  Spirifer  subattenuatus,  S.  inutilis,  S.  fimbriatus,  S.  bimesialis, 
S.  aspera,  S.  Parryanus,  Cyrtina  umbonata,  Cyrtina  triquetra,  Calymene 
bufo,  an  undetermined  Chonetes,  and  several  undetermined  species  of 
Cyathophylloid  corals. 

South  of  this  county  this  formation  next  appears  in  Calhoun  and 
Jersey  counties,  where  it  is  only  from  8  to  12  feet  in  thickness.  In 
the  vicinity  of  Grafton,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  the  rock  is  a 
brownish-gray  limestone,  rather  thin  bedded,  and  presents  the  appear- 
ance of  a  hydraulic  rock.  It  contains,  at  this  locality,  Strophomena 
fragilis  and  Atrypa  reticularis,  with  joints  of  Crinoidea.  In  Calhoun 
county  it  is  a  coarse  granular-gray  limestone,  from  8  to  12  feet  thick, 
and  forms  a  good  building  stone,  and  may  also  be  used  at  some 
localities  for  manufacturing  quicklime.  In  Monroe  county,  where  the 
proper  horizon  of  this  limestone  is  exposed,  no  representative  of  it  has 
been  seen.  It  appears  again,  however,  in  Jackson  county,  and  at  the 
Bake  Oven,  opposite  the  Grand  Tower,  it  is  represented  by  a  series 
of  dark-gray  fetid  limestones,  very  hard  and  somewhat  siliceous  in 
texture,  and  from  90  to  100  feet  or  more  in  thickness.  About  the 
middle  of  the  bed  there  are  some  drab-colored  shaly  layers  that  are 
full  of  fossils,  as  are  also  some  of  the  dark  colored  limestones  above. 
Among  the  species  most  common  here  are  Calymene  bufo,  Strophomena 
demissa,  Orthis  lowensis,  Chonetes  pusillus,  C.  Martini  and  Tropidolep. 
tus  carinatus.  The  lower  portion  of  the  bed  is  comparatively  poor 
in  fossils,  but  contains  a  few  species,  among  which  are  a  large 
Strophomena,  Chonetes  Littoni,  a  shell  resembling  Lucina,  and  one  or 
more  species  of  Gomphoceras.  The  beds  at  this  locality  have  never 
been  quarried  for  building  stone,  though  the  upper  portion  appears  to 
contain  some  valuable  material  for  that  purpose.  The  exposure  here 
is  restricted  to  an  outcrop  of  about  half  a  mile  along  the  river  bluff, 
where  the  beds  have  been  thrown  up,  and  dip  to  the  northeast  at 
an  angle  of  about  25°.  The  overlying  beds  are  not  exposed  here, 
but  at  Walker's  Hill,  about  half  a  mile  east  of  the  river  bluffs,  there 
is  a  covered  slope  above  the  upper  beds  of  this  limestone  which 


ORISKANY   SANDSTONE.  95 

forms  the  lower  end  of  the  hill,  indicating  the  presence  of  soft  shaly 
beds,  which  probably  belong  to  the  Black  slate  and  Kinderhook 
group. 

In  Union  county  this  limestone  is  well  exposed  on  the  road  lead- 
ing from  Jonesboro  to  Willard's  Landing,  and  about  two  miles  west 
of  the  first  nameti  point.  There  are  here  two  beds  of  limestone, 
separated  by  about  20  feet  of  brown  shale,  passing  locally  into  shaly 
limestone,  the  whole  attaining  a  thickness  of  100  to  120  feet.  The 
lower  bed  of  limestone  is  quite  massive,  dark  colored  and  emits  a 
fetid  odor  under  a  blow  of  the  hammer.  It  contains  considerable 
siliceous  matter  disseminated  through  the  rock  in  cherty  nodules, 
and  in  nearly  all  cases  the  calcareous  material  that  formed  the 
corals  and  shells  that  are  embedded  in  it  has  been  removed  and 
replaced  with  silica.  The  fossils  obtained  from  this  bed  were  the 
following :  Strophomena  fragilis,  S.  rhomboidalis,  two  or  more  species 
of  Platyceras,  Calymene  bufo,  and  several  undetermined  corals.  The 
shaly  limestone  forming  the  middle  division  contains  a  small  Avicu- 
lopecten  and  a  crushed  shell  like  a  Rhynchonella.  The  upper  lime- 
stone is  lighter  colored,  contains  less  cherty  matter  and  is  more 
evenly  bedded.  Some  of  the  layers  are  charged  with  Tropidoleptus 
carinatus  and  Strophomena  rhomboidalis,  which  appear  to  be  the  most 
common  fossils  it  contains.  South  of  Union  county  we  have  not  met 
with  this  formation  within  the  limits  of  the  State.  The  only  mate- 
rial of  economical  value  that  it  contains  is  good  building  stone, 
and  limestone  suitable  for  manufacturing  lime.  Near  Graf  ton  this 
limestone  has  the  appearance  of  hydraulic  rock,  but  no  experiments 
have  yet  been  made  to  determine  its  probable  value  as  a  hydraulic 
limestone.  In  this  portion  of  the  State  it  forms  the  base  of  the 
Devonian  system,  and  rests  directly  upon  the  Niagara  limestone. 

ORISKANY   SANDSTONE. 

This  interesting  division  of  the  Devonian  system  was  identified  in 
Southern  Illinois  in  the  spring  of  1858,  while  making  a  section 
across  the  Silurian  and  Devonian  strata  of  that  region  from  the 
Grand  Chain,  in  Alexander  county,  to  Jonesboro',  in  Union  county. 
It  appears  as  a  massive  quartzose  sandstone  or  siliceous  shale, 
passing  locally  into  an-  arenaceous  limestone,  and  is  sometimes 
exceedingly  hard,  resembling  quartzite  in  texture,  being  partially 
metamorphosed ;  and  at  other  localities  it  is  a  soft,  friable  sand- 
stone, which  crumbles  so  easily  under  a  blow  of  the  hammer  that 


96  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

a  good  specimen  is  difficult  to  obtain.  Its  color  is  usually  white', 
passing  into  a  reddish-brown  where  the  oxide  of  iron  is  present  in 
any  considerable  quantity. 

Three  and  a  half  miles  southwest  of  Jonesboro',  in  Union  county 
where  it  was  first  observed,  it  consists  of  a  massive  quartzose  sand- 
stone about  thirty  feet  in  thickness,  underlaid  by  about  ten  feet  of 
striped  siliceous  shales.  About  two  miles  west  of  Jonesboro'  the 
shale  is  replaced  by  a  band  of  cherty  limestone,  which,  at  another 
locality,  becomes  a  tolerably  pure  light  gray  limestone,  from  four  to 
six  feet  in  thickness.  Fossils  are  rare  in  the  sandstone,  and  occur 
only  as  casts,  and  are  consequently  difficult  of  determination.  Frag- 
ments of  Trilobites  and  casts  of  two  or  three  species  of  Brachiopoda, 
with  a  curious  form  of  Bryozoa  resembling  Pleurodictyum  problema- 
ticum,  are  the  common  forms  of  this  sandstone.  Where  the  beds 
become  calcareous,  the  fossils  are  more  abundant,  and  may  be 
obtained  in  a  better  condition. 

At  the  Bake  Oven,  in  Jackson  county,  the  rocks  forming  the  base 
of  the  bluff  belong  to  this  division  of  the  Devonian  system,  and 
consist  of  about  sixty  feet  in  thickness  of  sandstone  and  arenaceous 
limestone.  At  the  base  it  is  a  nearly  pure  quartzose  sandstone, 
and  in  the  middle  of  the  bed  it  consists  of  alternations  of  sandstone 
and  limestone,  and  at  the  top  it  becomes  a  nearly  white  crinoidal 
limestone.  These  beds  are  well  exposed  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
ridge  known  as  the  Back-bone,  and  also  on  the  south  side  of  Big 
Muddy,  where  they  form  the  hill  known  as  Bald  Bluff.  At  these 
last  named  localities  the  beds  are  more  or  less  calcareous,  and 
contain  a  variety  of  fossil  shells  belonging  to  the  genera  Platyceras, 
Euomphalus,  Ehynchonella,  etc.,  which  have  not  yet  been  specific- 
ally determined. 

In  Alexander  county  this  sandstone  caps  the  river  bluffs  in  the 
vicinity  of  Clear  creek,  overlying  the  cherty  limestones  of  that 
region. 

North  of  Jackson  county,  no  representative  of  this  sandstone  has 
been  seen,  except,  perhaps,  at  a  single  locality  in  Calhoun  county, 
just  below  Gilead,  where  a  single  stratum  of  quartzose  sandstone 
is  found,  about  one  foot  in  thickness,  overlying  the  Niagara  lime- 
stone. This  sandstone,  at  many  localities,  is  pure  enough  to  be 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  glass,  when  not  too  much  discolored  by 
the  presence  of  oxide  of  iron.  Unless  the  rock  is  partly  metamor- 
phic,  it  is  too  friable  to  be  of  any  value  as  a  building  stone ;  and 
when  metamorphism  has  taken  place,  it  is  too  hard  to  be  quarried 
with  facility.  The  upper  portion  of  the  bed  in  Jackson  county, 


CLEAR   CREEK   LIMESTONE.  97 

where  it  is  calcareous,  and  forms  a  massive  gray  limestone,  will 
afford  an  excellent  building  stone.  The  average  thickness  of  this 
formation  in  Southern  Illinois  may  be  estimated  at  from  forty  to 
sixty  feet. 

The  Oriskany  sandstone  is  supposed  to  form  the  base  of  the 
Devonian  system  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  but  in  Southern 
Illinois  it  is  underlaid  by  a  group  of  siliceous  limestones,  next  to  be 
described,  that  in  their  upper  beds  contain  well  marked  Devonian 
fossils,  and  below,  those  that  seem  to  be  characteristic  upper  Silu- 
rian forms ;  thus  forming  beds  of  passage  from  the  upper  Silurian 
to  the  Devonian  systems.  This  group  seems  to  hold  about  the  same 
relation  to  these  two  systems  that  the  Anticosti  group  of  Canada 
holds  between  the  upper  and  lower  Silurian  of  that  country.  We 
have,  therefore,  drawn  the  dividing  line  between  the  Devonian  and 
upper  Silurian,  in  our  general  section,  through  this  limestone  group 
underlying  the  Oriskany  sandstone. 


DEVONIAN    AND    UPPER    SILURIAN. 


CLEAR    CREEK    LIMESTONE. 

We  use  this  term  to  designate  a  group  of  strata,  that  are  limited 
in  their  outcrop  to  the  counties  of  Jackson,  Union  and  Alexander, 
first  making  their  appearance  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Mississippi,  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  ridge  known  as  the  Devil's  Backbone,  in  Jackson 
county,  and  continuing  along  the  river  bluffs  to  Clear  creek,  in  Union 
county,  where  they  are  fully  developed,  and  where  they  probably 
attain  their  maximum  thickness  of  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to 
three  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  From  the  lower  axis  which  crosses  the 
Mississippi  at  Thebes,  in  Alexander  county,  it  trends  off  to  the  south- 
east, and  soon  dips  below  the  superincumbent  Devonian  beds.  Its 
outcrop  is  nearly  forty  miles  in  extent  from  north  to  south,  with  an 
average  width  of  from  five  to  ten  miles.  It  occupies  exactly  the 
Same  stratigraphical  horizon  in  Southern  Illinois  that  the  Niagara 
limestone  occupies  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  State,  and  as  it 
afforded  but  few  fossils  at  the  principal  localities  examined,  and  those 
in  such  a  condition  of  preservation  as  to  render  their  determination 
somewhat  difficult,  we  were  at  first  inclined  to  refer  the  group  to 
the  same  age  as  the  Niagara  limestone ;  but  more  complete  collec- 
tions of  the  fossil  forms  peculiar  to  this  group  having  been  obtained 
—7 


98  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

by  Mr.  ENGELMANN,  in  his  detailed  examination  of  the  counties  of 
Jackson,  Union  and  Alexander,  they  were  found,  upon  critical  exami- 
nation by  Mr.  MEEK,  to  present  a  mingling  of  Devonian  with  some 
upper  Silurian  forms,  and  it  became  necessary  to  give  to  the  group 
a  distinctive  name. 

It  may  be  proper  to  state  here,  that  the  Niagara  limestone,  as  it  is 
traced  south  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river,  soon  disappears  with 
an  easterly  dip  below  the  surface ;  and  in  Monroe  county,  where  it 
should  again  appear  at  Salt  Lick  Point,  where  the  lower  Silurian 
limestones  are  again  elevated  to  the  surface,  no  trace  of  it  can  be 
seen,  and  the  Trenton  limestone  is  directly  overlaid  by  argillaceous 
shales,  and  the  calcareous  beds  of  the  Kinderhook  group. 

From  this  it  would  appear  probable  that  no  beds  of  undoubted 
Niagara  age  were  ever  deposited  in  Southern  Illinois,  but  in  their 
place  these  siliceous  limestones,  representing  in  part  the  age  of  the 
Lower  Helderberg  limestones,  and  in  part  the  Oriskany  sandstone 
of  the  New  York  series,  were  deposited  in  its  place,  resting  directly 
upon  the  Cincinnati  group  of  the  lower  Silurian.  The  upper  divi- 
sion of  the  Cincinnati  group,  in  this  portion  of  the  State,  is  a  fine 
grained,  thin-bedded  blue  limestone,  "Cape  Girardeau "  limestone 
of  the  Missouri  Report.  About  two  miles  above  Thebes,  in  Alex- 
ander county,  we  find  the  Clear  Creek  limestone  succeeding  this  in 
the  following  order:  First,  a  coarse  texture  dark  bluish-gray  lime- 
stone, about  four  feet  in  thickness,  that  contains  numerous  fossils, 
among  which  the  fine  Trilobite,  recently  described  by  Mr.  MEEK 
and  the  writer  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of 
Sciences,  under  the  name  of  Dalmania  Dante,  is  quite  abundant, 
associated  with  a  Strophomena,  that  appears  to  be  identical  with 
S.  radiata  of  the  lower  Helderberg  limestones,  a  Meristella  like  M. 
bella,  and  an  undetermined  Heliolites. 

This  band  of  dark-gray  limestone  appears  to  be  a  local  deposit, 
and  has  not  yet  been  met  with  at  any  other  locality.  It  is  succeeded 
by  a  mottled  limestone  in  regular  beds,  sometimes  of  a  dark  reddish- 
brown  color,  but  more  commonly  mottled  with  red  and  gray.  It 
occurs  in  beds  from  one  to  three  feet  in  thickness,  takes  a  fine 
polish,  and  makes  a  very  handsome  variegated  marble.  A  few 
Orthoceratites  were  observed  in  it  at  one  locality  about  five  miles 
north  of  Thebes,  but  it  appears  to  be  usually  without  fossils,  and 
is  not  separated  from  the  thin-bedded  siliceous  limestones  above  by 
any  distinct  line,  but  seems  rather  to  merge  gradually  into  them. 
The  thickness  of  this  mottled  limestone  varies  from  ten  to  twenty- 
five  feet. 


CLEAR    CREEK    LIMESTONE.  -  99 

Above  this  comes  the  great  mass  of  the  Clear  Creek  limestones, 
with  an  aggregate  thickness  of  three  hundred  feet  or  more,  consist- 
ing of  thin-bedded  siliceous  limestones  of  a  yellowish-gray  color, 
weathering  to  a  light  buff,  and  forming  on  the  hill-sides  a  steep 
talus  of  loose  chert-  This  limestone  forms  the  bluffs  of  the  Missis- 
sippi from  Thebes,  in  Alexander  county,  to  the  lower  end  of  the  "Back- 
bone," in  Jackson  county,  and  the  belt  of  country  which  it  underlies 
east  of  the  river  bluffs  is  very  broken  and  hilly,  and  of  but  little 
value  as  an  agricultural  region.  Nearly  all  the  farms  that  have 
been  opened  over  that  portion  of  this  limestone  belt,  which  we  have 
examined,  are  in  the  valleys  of  the  small  streams.  The  tops  of  the 
ridges  are  usually  covered  with  timber,  but  the  slopes  of  the  hills 
are  generally  naked  masses  of  loose  chert. 

At  the  exposure  of  this  limestone,  just  below  Bailey's  Landing,  in 
Missouri,  we  found  a  variety  of  fossils  in  the  lower  portion  of  it; 
but  on  the  Illinois  shore  we  were  not  able  to  find  any,  except  in  the 
upper  divisions  of  this  formation.  The  species  obtained  near 
Bailey's  Landing  are  Strophomena  rhomboidalis,  S.  radiata,  Cyrtia 
Dalmani,  Leptocelia  imbricata,  Calymena  rugosa,  Dalmania  tridentifera, 
Orthis  planoconvexa,  and  several  undetermined  species  of  Platyceras. 
In  the  upper  portion  of  this  limestone,  west  of  Jonesboro',  in 
Union  county,  we  obtained  the  pygidium  of  a  Trilobite  closely 
allied  to,  if  not  identical  with,  Dalmania  micrurus,  an  undetermined 
species  of  Stricklandia,  two  or  three  species  of  Spirifer,  apparently 
of  Devonian  forms,  one  of  which  has  a  very  extended  hinge  line 
like  S.  pinnatus,  but  as  these  fossils  are  all  casts  and  in  a  frag- 
mentary condition,  their  specific  characters  are  not  readily  deter- 
mined. On  looking  over  the  collection  made  by  Mr.  ENGELMANN 
from  this  limestone  it  seemed  necessary  to  separate  it  from  the 
Niagara  group,  and  to  place  it  in  a  higher  position  in  the  geological 
series,  ranging  from  the  Niagara  limestone  to  the  base  of  the 
Oriskany  sandstone.  Dr.  SHUMARD  has  suggested  that  these  lime- 
stones may  be  the  equivalents  of  the  upper  Silurian  beds  that  form 
the  cedar  glades  in  Decatur  and  Perry  counties,  in  Tennessee,  but 
there  seems  to  be  no  such  mingling  of  characteristic  Niagara  forms 
with  those  of  more  recent  age,  in  these  limestones  in  Southern 
Illinois,  as  characterize  the  upper  Silurian  limestones  of  Tennessee. 
For  a  more  detailed  description  of  the  peculiar  features  of  this 
group  of  rocks,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  detailed  surveys  of 
Union  and  Alexander  counties. 


100  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

UPPER    SILURIAN. 

NIAGARA   LIMESTONE. 

This  important  formation  occupies  a  large  area  of  surface  in 
Northern  Illinois,  and  along  the  northern  line  of  the  State  west  of 
Rockford  it  caps  the  "Mounds,"  which  form  a  marked  feature  in 
the  topography  of  that  region;  and  in  the  northeastern  portion  of 
the  State  it  becomes  the  fundamental  rock  over  a  wide  extent  of 
surface  beyond  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Illinois  coal  field.  In 
the  counties  of  Cook,  Will,  DuPage,  Kendall  and  Kane,  in  the 
northeast,  and  in  JoDaviess,  Stephenson,  Carroll,  Whiteside,  Lee 
and  Rock  Island,  in  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  State,  this 
formation  generally  appears  as  a  regularly  bedded  brown  dolomite, 
with  occasional  intercalations  of  beds  of  massive  gray  limestone.  It 
forms  continuous  bluffs  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  from 
the  north  line  of  Carroll  county  nearly  to  Hampton,  in  Rock  Island 
county,  and,  except  near  the  lower  end  of  the  outcrop  in  the  last 
named  county,  it  is  everywhere  a  regularly  bedded  brown  or  buff 
dolomitic  limestone,  sometimes  cherty  and  thin-bedded,  and  at  other 
localities  massive  and  quite  free  from  siliceous  matter. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Port  Byron,  where  only  the  upper  portion  of 
this  limestone  is  to  be  seen,  it  appears  as  a  yellowish-gray  concre- 
tionary mass  of  limestone,  presenting  no  regular  lines  of  bedding  or 
stratification,  but  showing  lines  of  false  bedding  or  cleavage  at 
every  conceivable  angle  to  the  horizon.  It  has  also  a  porous  or 
vesicular  structure,  and  some  portions  of  the  mass  are  a  true 
breccia.  It  is  much  harder  than  the  brown  dolomite  of  this  forma- 
tion, and  breaks  with  an  irregular,  splintery  fracture.  Some  por- 
tions of  the  mass  present  an  amygdaloidal  or  vesicular  structure, 
from  the  solution  of  the  fossils  with  which  it  was  originally  filled. 
This  limestone  first  makes  its  appearance  in  the  river  bluffs  at  the 
lime  kilns,  about  one  mile  above  Port  Byron,  and  continues  down 
the  bluffs  nearly  to  the  town  of  Hampton,  where  it  dips  below  the 
level  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  is  seen  no  more.  The  entire 
thickness  of  this  portion  of  the  bed  exposed  in  this  vicinity  is  about 
fifty  feet.  •  It  affords  an  excellent  material  for  the  manufacture  of 
quick  lime,  and  is  extensively  quarried  for  this  purpose  in  the 
vicinity  of  Port  Byron. 

In  the  Report  on  the  Geology  of  Iowa,  published  in  1858,  Prof. 
HALL  separated  the  limestones  of  Leclare.  in  Iowa,  and  Port  Byron, 


NIAGABA   LIMESTONE.  101 

in  Illinois,  from  the  Niagara  group,  and  expressed  the  opinion  that 
they  were  the  equivalents  of  the  limestones  of  Gait,  in  Canada,  and 
in  part,  also,  of  the  Onondaga  salt  group  of  the  New  York  series. 
He  also  mistook  the  lines  of  false  bedding  for  the  true  stratification 
of  the  rock,  and  announced  the  thickness  of  the  beds  exposed  at  this 
locality  as  over  six  hundred  feet,  by  actual  measurement,  and  at  the 
same  time  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  was  probably  much  more. 
The  regularly  bedded  buff-colored  dolomites  which  occur  at  Leclare 
he  considered  to  ba  the  equivalents  of  the  Onondaga  salt  group  and 
as  overlying  the  Gait  limestone. 

While  constructing  the  river  section  along  the  east  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  in  the  autumn  of  1838,  we  carefully  examined  the  lime- 
stones on  both  sides  of  the  river  in  this  vicinity,  and  in  the  course 
of  these  examinations  we  thought  there  were  good  reasons  for 
doubting  the  correctness  of  the  conclusions  announced  by  Prof. 
HALL,  in  the  Iowa  Eeport.  We  made  a  large  collection  of  fossils  at 
these  localities,  intending  to  study  them  carefully  after  the  comple- 
tion of  the  field  labor  for  the  season,  to  see  what  light  they  might 
throw  on  this  question;  but  unfortunately  the  whole  collection  was 
lost,  by  the  burning  of  the  freight  depot  of  the  St.  Louis,  Alton 
and  Chicago  Railroad,  in  Springfield,  where-  they  were  temporarily 
stored.  Nevertheless,  our  examinations  in  the  field  developed  the 
fact  that  the  limestone  at  LeClare  and  Port  Byron  was  a  concre- 
tionary or  amorphous  mass,  without  any  true  lines  of  bedding,  and 
that  its  supposed  thickness,  as  determined  by  the  author  of  the 
above  named  report,  was  vastly  overestimated.  We  also  discovered 
that  the  evenly-bedded  dolomitic  limestone,  about  thirty  feet  in 
thickness,  on  the  Iowa  side  of  the  river,  which  he  referred  to  the 
age  of  the  Onondaga  salt  group,  and  placed  above  the  concretionary 
limestone,  was  really  intercalated  in  and  formed  a  part  of  that 
limestone.  These  evenly- bedded  layers  scarcely  appear  at  all  on 
the  Illinois  shore,  but  on  the  Iowa  side  they  are  seen  at  two  local- 
ities, and  at  both  are  overlaid  by  the  concretionary  limestone  of 
which  they  form  a  part. 

In  the  summer  of  1861  we  revisited  this  locality  for  the  purpose 
of  replacing,  as  far  as  possible,  the  collection  of  fossils  which  had 
been  so  unfortunately  lost ;  and  on  comparing  the  fossils  collected 
at  this  time  with  those  from  a  limestone,  presenting  similar  litho- 
logical  characters  at  Bridgport,  near  Chicago,  the  age  of  which  was 
generally  admitted  to  be  the  same  as  the  Niagara  limestone  of  New 
York,  we  were  unable  to  resist  the  conviction  that  the  beds  at 
Leclare  and  Port  Byron  were  of  the  same  age,  and  consequently 


102  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

that  they  represented  the  upper  division  of  the  Niagara  limestone, 
as  it  appears  in  the  western  development  of  that  formation. 

These  conclusions  we  announced  in  a  paper  dated  November,  1861, 
and  published  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science,  Vol.  XXXIII, 
p.  46,  May,  1862;  and  subsequently  Prof.  HALL,  in  an  advanced 
sheet  of  the  New  York  Regent's  Report,  dated  December,  1864,  pub- 
lished the  same  conclusions  in  regard  to  the  age  of  the  concretionary 
limestone  of  Leclare,  but,  perhaps  inadvertently,  forgot  to  mention 
the  fact  that  the  announcement  had  been  made  nearly  three  years 
before  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science.  He  also  reiterates  his 
conclusions,  in  the  last  named  paper,  in  regard  to  the  position  of 
the  evenly-bedded  limestones  of  Leclare,  but  brings  forward  no  addi- 
tional facts  in  confirmation  of  their  correctness,  nor  does  he  attempt 
to  answer  the  objections  urged  against  them.  So  far  as  the  geology 
of  Iowa  is  concerned,  the  disputed  point  may  be  safely  left  to  the 
able  geologist  recently  appointed  to  complete  the  geological  survey 
of  that  State;  but  for  Illinois  we  will  say  just  here  that  there  are 
no  beds  yet  known  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  State,  of  upper 
Silurian  age,  overlying  the  Niagara  limestone ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
we  find  this  limestone  directly  overlaid  by  the  Devonian  limestones 
where  they  are  developed,  and,  in  their  absence,  by  the  Coal  Measures, 
which,  in  some  portions  of  the  State,  is  the  next  succeeding  forma- 
tion. 

At  Bridgeport,  near  Chicago,  the  rock  presents  the  same  general 
characters  as  at  Port  Byoon  and  Leclare,  and  is  extensively  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  lime.  West  and  northwest  of  Chicago,  and 
just  outside  the  city  limits,  it  is  highly  charged  with  petroleum, 
which  oozes  from  the  face  of  the  limestone,  filling  all  the  cavities 
which  it  contains,  and  gathers  in  pools  in  the  bottoms  of  the  old 
quarries,  or  covers  the  surface  of  the  water  with  which  they  are  par- 
tially filled.  Notwithstanding  the  rock  is  completely  saturated  with 
oil,  it  seems  that  the  conditions  are  such,  owing  to  its  concretion- 
ary structure,  that  it  cannot  be  made  available  as  an  oil  producing 
deposit.  This  bituminous  portion  of  the  limestone  is  from  thirty- 
five  to  forty  feet  thick,  and  at  the  artesian  well  was  found  to  be 
underlaid  by  about  eighty  feet  of  regularly  bedded  limestone  which 
no  doubt  includes  the  Athens  marble  and  the  Joliet  limestone,  "and 
below  this  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  of  what  is  called  by  those 
who  kept  a  record  of  the  well,  "arenaceous  beds  with  flint  nodules," 
which  probably  represents  the  lower  part  of  the  Niagara  limestone. 
This  gives  a  thickness  of  about  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  to  the 


NIAGABA   LIMESTONE.  103 

formation  at  Chicago,  and  through  Northern  Illinois  it  probably 
ranges  from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  thickness. 
At  Athens  this  formation  affords  a  beautiful  compact  gray  lime- 
stone that  takes  a  fine  polish,  and  is  extensively  used  in  Chicago  as 
an  ornamental  stone  for  outside  walls,  and  has  also  found  a  market 
in  varions  portions  of  the  State  where  an  extra-fine  quality  of  rock  was 
required,  and  it  has  come  to  be  generally  known  as  the  Athens  mar- 
ble. At  Joliet  there  is  about  forty  feet  in  thickness  of  regularly 
bedded  buff  and  gray  limestones  exposed  above  the  level  of  the  canal. 
The  beds  vary  in  thickness  from  two  inches  to  three  feet,  and  for 
all  the  ordinary  purposes  of  building  and  for  flags,  these  quarries 
will  afford  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  material  of  the  very  best  qual- 
ity. This  stone  is  now  shipped  to  almost  every  part  of  the  State 
that  is  accessible  by  railroad  to  this  locality,  and  is  more  or  less 
used  in  nearly  every  city  and  town  in  the  northern  and  central  por- 
tions of  the  State.  It  affords  a  beautiful  flagstone,  that  from  its 
even  bedding  may  be  obtained  of  any  required  size,  and  the  heavier 
beds  dress  easily,  are  free  from  chert,  and  afford  a  building  stone 
that,  for  its  excellence,  cannot  be  surpassed,  and  is  destined  to 
subserve  the  architectural  requirements  of  the  Northwest  as  com- 
pletely as  the  brown  freestone  of  the  Connecticut  valley  does  that  of 
New  England  and  New  York.  The  following  is  the  result  of  Mr. 
PEATTEN'S  analysis  of  this  rock : 

Moisture  and  loss 1.07 

Insoluble  matter 14.73 

Per  oxyd  of  iron 1.77 

Carbonate  of  lime 41.92 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 40.51 

100.00 

An  analysis  of  the  concretionary  rock  at  Leclare,  in  Iowa,  by 
Dr.  C.  F.  CHANDLER,  as  published  in  the  Iowa  Eeport,  yielded  the 
following  result : 

Insoluble  silicates  or  sand 0.42 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina 0.53 

Carbonate  of  lime 57.54 

Carbonate  of  magnesia  (by  loss) 41.51 

Total 100.00 

This  may  be  taken  as  an  average  of  the  concretionary  limestone 
at  Port  Byron  and  Bridgeport,  where  it  is  almost  identical  in  char- 
acter with  the  beds  at  Leclare. 

At  Sterling,  in  Whiteside  county,  and  Oswego,  in  Kendall  county, 
the  lower  part  of  this  formation  is  exposed,  and  its  junction  with  the 
lower  Silurian  beds  may  be  clearly  seen.  At  Sterling  there  is  abou^ 


104  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

forty-five  feet  in  thickness  of  the  Niagara  limestone  exposed,  consisting 
of  thin-bedded  buff  colored  dolomite,  the  layers  varying  from  two  to 
three  inches  to  a  foot  in  thickness.  Thin  seams  of  chert  are  interspersed 
through  the  mass.  Fossil  corals  are  quite  abundant  here,  and  are  all 
siliceous.  Halysites  catenulatus,  Fovosites  Gothlandica,  Stromatopora 
rugosa,  and  an  undetermined  species  of  Syringopora,  are  the  most  com- 
mon. At  Oswego,  there  is  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  of  rock  exposed 
of  similar  character,  and  containing  the  same  species  of  fossils.  At 
both  localities  these  beds  rest  directly  upon  the  Cincinnati  group.  At 
Joliet  the  quarries  afford  comparatively  few  fossils,  but  Calymene  Blu- 
menbachii)  Lituites  capax,  Orthoceras  crebristriatum,  O.  Sub-baculum, 
O.  Jolietense,  and  0.  undulatum,  and  a  single  specimen  of  Favosites 
Gothlandica,  have  been  obtained  there.  Along  the  northern  borders 
of  the  coal  field  this  limestone  passes  directly  beneath  the  Coal 
Measures  which  overlie  it  unconformably,  but  in  Kock  Island  county 
it  passes  underneath  the  Hamilton  limestone  with  a  gentle  dip  to 
the  southwest. 

Along  the  southwestern  border  of  the  State  this  formation  comes 
to  the  surface  again  in  Pike  county,  and  where  it  first  makes  its 
appearance  it  is  a  rough  gray  heavy-bedded  limestone,  which  rises 
abruptly  from  the  river  bottoms,  and  with  a  dip  to  the  N.  20°  W. 
at  an  angle  of  7°,  rises  in  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  yards  to 
form  a  cliff  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in  height.  Two  or  three  miles 
below  this  point  this  rock  is  again  seen  with  a  reversed  dip  to  the 
S.  20°  E.  of  about  6°.  At  this  locality  the  upper  ten  feet  of  the 
bed  is  a  brown  dolomite,  underlaid  by  a  gray  limestone,  similar  to 
that  mentioned  above.  The  entire  thickness  of  the  formation  was 
not  seen,  and  probably  the  lower  beds  do  not  come  to  the  surface 
in  this  county.  Mr.  PRATTEN'S  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  the  brown 
dolomite  from  Wells'  quarry,  near  the  mouth  of  Six  Mile  creek,  gave 
the  following  results : 

Water  and  loss 31 

Carbonate  of  lime 61.60 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 33.14 

Insoluble  material 3.35 

Iron  and  alumina 1 .60 

Through  the  southern  part  of  Pike  and  the  northern  part  of 
Calhoun  county  this  formation  is  frequently  met  with,  presenting 
outcrops  from  ten  to  sixty  feet  in  thickness,  along  the  river  bluffs. 
It  has  afforded  no  well  marked  or  characteristic  fossils  in  these 
counties,  but  only  some  fragments,  sufficient,  however,  to  determine, 
in  connection  with  the  lithological  characters  of  the  rock,  its  true 
horizon. 


CINCINNATI     GROUP.  105 

In  Jersey  county  it  is  again  met  with  in  full  force,  forming  per- 
pendicular cliffs  from  fifty  to  more  than  a  hundred  feet  in  height 
along  the  bluffs  of  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers.  At  Graf  ton 
this  bed  forms  a  perpendicular  cliff,  immediately  below  the  town, 
from  eighty  to  ninety  feet  above  the  low  water  level  of  the  river. 
Here  it  is  a  regular-bedded  buff  colored  dolomite,  the  strata  varying 
from  three  inches  to  three  feet  in  thickness,  is  even-textured,  and 
may  be  easily  obtained  in  blocks  of  any  desirable  size.  These  quar- 
ries have  afforded  the  material  for  the  old  Lindell  Hotel,  in  St.  Louis, 
and  for  heavy  buildings  it  is  fully  equal  to  the  Joliet  stone.  Its 
entire  thickness  in  this  county  is  a'bout  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
It  affords  some  fossils,  generally  of  the  same  species  obtained  at 
Joliet.  About  a  mile  below  Grafton  the  dip  of  the  strata  carries 
this  limestone  below  the  river  bed,  and  it  has  not  been  met  with 
anywhere  south  of  this  point  presenting  similar  lithological  charac- 
ters to  those  which  distinguished  it  in  Northern  Illinois. 

Mr.  PRATTEN'S  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  this  rock  from  the  Graf- 
ton  quarries  gave  the  following  results : 

Insoluble  matters 5.60 

Carbonate  of  lime 47 .79 

Iron  and  alumina 1.40 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 42.86 

Water  and  loss...  .    235 


100.00 

At  Salt  Lick  Point,  in  Monroe  county,  where  the  proper  horizon 
of  this  formation  is  exposed,  it  is  not  represented,  but  we  find  the 
lower  Silurian  strata  directly  overlaid  by  shales  that  appear  to 
belong  to  the  Carboniferous  system.  At  points  still  further  south  in 
this  State,  the  Niagara  limestone  is  replaced  by  the  thin-bedded 
silicious  limestones  already  described  in  these  pages  under  the  name 
of  Clear  Creek  limestones. 


LOWEE  SILURIAN. 

CINCINNATI   GROUP. 

This  name  was  proposed  by  Mr.  MEEK  and  the  writer  in  a  paper 
published  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Science, 
for  August,  1865,  to  include  the  upper  group  of  lower  Silurian  strata, 
as  developed  in  the  West,  the  sub-divisions  of  which  have  hitherto 
been  known  under  various  names,  such  as  Utica  Slate,  Lorraine 
Shales,  Cape  Girardeau  Limestone,  etc.,  while  the  whole  was  often 


106  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

included  under  the  general  name  of  "Hudson  Eiver  Group,"  now 
known  to  belong,  as  developed  at  the  typical  localities  on  the  Hud- 
son river,  to  a  very  different  horizon  from  our  Western  rocks  under 
consideration.*  It  consists,  in  this  State,  of  argillaceous  and  sandy 
shales,  brown  sandstone  and  compact  blue  limestone,  the  whole  of 
variable  thickness,  ranging  from  forty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
In  the  lead  region  of  the  Northwest  it  consists  of  argillaceous, 
bituminous  and  sandy  shales,  with  intercalations  of  thin  bands  of 
calcareous  shales  and  limestones.  From  the  soft  and  yielding 
nature  of  the  strata,  good  exposures  of  the  rocks  are  rarely  seen  in 
this  portion  of  the  State,  and  its  outcrop  is  usually  covered  by  a 
sloping  talus,  extending  from  the  dolomitic  limestones  of  the  Niagara 
group  that  overlie  it  to  the  Galena  limestone  below.  For  a  detailed 
description  of  this  group,  as  it  appears  in  this  portion  of  the  State, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  the  report  on  the  lead  region,  by  Prof. 
WHITNEY,  in  a  subsequent  chapter.  At  Savanna,  in  Carroll  county, 
the  lower  part  of  the  bed  is  more  calcareous,  and  consists  of  thin- 
bedded  buff  and  brown  limestone,  some  layers  of  which  are  remarkable 
for  their  cleavage  into  regular  diamond-shaped  blocks.  These  layers 
are  from  two  to  four  inches  thick,  and  contain  fragments  of  Trilo- 
bites.  The  upper  portion  of  the  bed  at  this  locality  is  an  ash 
colored  argillaceous  shale,  with  thin  plates  of  limestone  thickly 
covered  with  fossil  shells,  among  which  are  Orthis  lynx,  O.  occiden- 
talis,  O.  testudinaria,  O.  bella-rugosa,  Chcetetes  petropolitanus,  and 
fragments  of  Trilobites. 

*  As  it  is  now  acknowledged  that  the  rocks  along  the  Hudson  river  valley,  to  which  the 
name  "Hudson  River  Group"  had  been  applied,  belong,  as  long  ago  maintained  by  Prof. 
EMMONS.  to  a  different  horizon  from  the  so-called  Hudson  River  Rocks  of  Western  New 
York  and  the  States  further  westward,  it  seems  to  be  an  awkward  misnomer  to  continue 
to  apply  the  name  "Hudson  River  Group"  to  these  western  deposits.  Hence  it  is  cer- 
tainly desirable  that  this  group  should  receive  some  appropriate  and  generally  applicable 
name.  Its  sub-divisions,  it  is  true,  had  already  received  various  lithological  names,  such 
as  "Utica  Slate,"  "Frankfort  Slate,"  "Lorraine  Shale,"  etc.;  but  as  each  of  these  names 
will  probably  always  be  directly  associated,  in  the  minds  of  geologists,  with  the  particular 
sub-division  to  which  it  was  originally  applied,  while  neither  of  them  is  applicable  to  the 
litkological  characters  of  the  whole  series,  we  cannot,  without  creating  confusion,  so 
extend  its  signification.  It  has  recently  been  proposed  to  designate  this  as  the  "Green 
and  Blue  Shales  and  Limestones."  This,  however,  is  not  a  name,  but  a  descriptive  phrase, 
and  has  the  disadvantage  of  being  based  on  lithological  characters  not  everwhere  char- 
acteristic of  these  beds.  In  view  of  all  the  facts,  we  concluded  to  propose  the  name 
"Cincinnati  Group"  for  this  series,  as  this  name  possesses  the  advantage  of  being  equally 
applicable  to  rocks  of  any  color  or  composition,  while  it  carries  the  mind  to  a  well  known 
locality  where  the  formation  referred  to  is  extensively  developed  and  its  fossils  so  abund- 
ant that  they  have  been  thence  widely  distributed,  both  in  this  country  and  Europe .  Con- 
sequently geologists  will  everywhere  at  once  understand  to  what  particular  horizon  of  the 
lower  Silurian  this  name  refers. 


CINCINNATI   GROUP.  107 

At  Oswego,  in  Kendall  county,  the  junction  of  this  group  with 
the  overlying  Niagara  limestone  is  well  exposed,  and  also  from 
eighteen  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness  of  the  upper  part  of  this  group. 
The  upper  six  feet  of  the  latter,  at  this  locality,  is  a  regularly 
bedded  gray  limestone,  in  layers  from  six  to  twelve  inches  thick. 
Below  this  the  rock  is  an  irregularly  bedded  limestone,  with  inter- 
calations of  green  shale  extending  below  the  bed  of  Fox  river.  It 
affords  the  following  species  of  fossils :  Strophomena  alternata, 
Orthis  lynx,  0.  bella-rugosa,  Chcstetes  petropolitanus,  Heterocrinus 
crassus,  two  species  of  Nautilus  (one  of  which  appears  to  be  identical 
with  N.  Hercules  of  BILLINGS),  and  Tentaculites  Oswegoensis.  The 
line  of  demarcation  between  the  upper  and  lower  Silurian  strata  is 
well  denned  at  this  locality,  the  upper  rock  being  a  brown  dolomite, 
presenting  the  same  general  characters  which  distinguish  it  every- 
where in  the  Northwest.  At  Wilmington,  in  Will  county,  there  is 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  of  this  group  exposed  in  the  bluffs  of 
the  Kankakee.  The  lower  part  is  an  irregularly  bedded  argillaceous 
limestone,  which  passes  upward  into  green  shales,  with  thin  bands 
of  limestone.  Rhynchonella  capax  is  very  abundant  here,  in  addition 
to  most  of  the  species  observed  at  Oswego. 

In  the  southern  portion  of  the  State  this  group  presents  a  very 
different  aspect,  lithologically,  from  that  observed  at  the  localities 
noticed  in  the  northern  division.  Here  it  consists  r>f  about  one 
hundred  feet  in  thickness  of  brown  sandy  shales  and  sandstone, 
which  form  the  lower  portion  of  the  group,  overlaid  by  about  forty 
feet  of  thin-bedded  compact  blue  limestone.  This  limestone  was 
described  in  the  Missouri  Keport  under  the  name  of  Cape  Girardeau 
limestone,  and  was  included  in  the  upper  Silurian  system,  while 
the  shales  are  not  mentioned  and  appear  not  to  have  been  observed 
in  their  explorations  in  Missouri.  The  sandstone  is  mentioned  as 
occurring  near  Cape  Girardeau,  and  overlying  the  Trenton  limestone. 
This  sandstone  is  well  exposed  in  the  bluffs  at  the  town  of  Thebes, 
and  has  received  locally  the  name,  of  Thebes  sandstone.  It  is  a 
regularly  bedded  brown  sandstone,  sometimes  massive,  and  affording 
excellent  dimension  stone  for  heavy  masonry,  as  well  as  some  thin 
beds  suitable  for  flags.  It  withstands  the  action  of  atmospheric 
agencies,  and  appears  to  be  in  every  way  reliable  as  a  building 
stone.  It  has  been  quarried  at  this  point  and  transported  to  Cairo, 
for  the  construction  of  foundation  walls,  and  is  perhaps  the  most 
durable  sandstone  for  this  kind  of  work  to  be  found  in  the  southern 
portion  of  the  State.  Neither  the  sandstone  nor  the  shale  above 
has  afforded  any  fossils,  except  a  single  species  of  Linynla,  which 


108  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

was  found  in  the  upper  part  of  the  shale  between  Thebes  and  Santa 
Fe,  where  it  becomes  quite  argillaceous.  Below  the  sandstone  there 
is  a  bed  of  yellowish-brown  shale,  about  five  feet  thick,  containing 
fragments  of  Trilobites  (mostly  Asaphus  canalis)  in  abundance.  This 
shale  rests  directly  upon  the  Trenton  limestone. 

The  blue  limestone  which  forms  the  upper  division  of  the  group, 
in  this  portion  of  the  State,  is  a  thin-bedded  dark  bluish-gray  fine 
grained  limestone,  with  shaly  partings  between  the  layers,  and 
breaking  usually  with  a  smooth  conchoidal  fracture,  it  somewhat 
resembles,  in  lithological  characters,  that  portion  of  the  Trenton 
limestone  known  in  the  mining  region  of  the  Northwest  as  the  glass 
rock.  The  beds  vary  in  thickness  from  two  to  six  inches,  and  are 
intersected  by  numerous  vertical  joints,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
obtain  blocks  of  this  limestone  of  any  considerable  size.  It  is  well 
exposed  on  Orchard  creek,  one  mile  and  a  half  below  Thebes,  and 
also  at  the  river's  edge,  at  low  water,  about  one  mile  and  a  half 
above  the  town.  The  rock  is  quite  fossiliferous  at  these  localities, 
and  has  afforded  a  number  of  interesting  species,  among  which  are 
Glyptocrinus  decadactylus,  G.fimbriatus,  Chcetetes  petropolitanus,  Asaphus 
canalis,  Orthis  Missouriensis,  Strophomena  tenuistriata,  and  undeter- 
mined species  of  Conularia,  Cyclonema,  Cyrtolites,  with  Tentaculites 
tenuistriatus  and  T.  incurvus.  This  limestone  is  no  doubt  a  durable 
building  stone,  but  in  consequence  of  the  thinness  of  the  beds,  and 
its  numerous  vertical  joints,  it  can  only  be  obtained  in  small  blocks. 
Its  outcrop  in  this  county  is  confined,  so  far  as  is  known,  to  the 
two  localities  above  named,  and  one  or  two  others  on  Sexton's 
creek,  a  short  distance  east  of  Thebes.  The  outcrop  of  the  whole 
group  is  restricted  to  a  very  limited  area  in  this  county,  its  exposure 
here  being  due  to  the  elevation  of  the  axis  which  forms  the  Grand 
Chain  just  below  Thebes,  and  with  a  reversed  dip  it  passes  rapidly 
below  the  surface  on  both  sides  of  the  axis,  as  may  be  seen  by 
referring  to  the  section  of  the  Mississippi  bluffs  from  Dunleith  to 
Cairo  in  the  first  Vol.  of  the  original  Reports.  It  has  not  yet  been 
found  at  any  other  locality  in  Southern  Illinois. 

Some  of  the  argillaceous  beds  of  Western  and  Northern  Illinois 
may  afford  good  potter's  clay,  while  the  bituminous  shales  of  the 
northwest  may  be  made  available  for  the  production  of  oil  or  illumi- 
nating gas.  A  specimen  of  this  shale,  from  one  mile  east  of  Savan- 
na, in  Carroll  county,  analyzed  by  Dr.  C.  F.  CHANDLEK,*  afforded 
the  following  result: 

*See  Iowa  Report,  Part  I,  Vol.  I,  page  359. 


TEENTON    GROUP.  109 

Moisture 75 

Volatile  combustible  matter 14.12 

Fixed  carbon 6.84 

Total  combustible  substances 20.96 

Incombustible  residuum  ..  •...  ..78.29 


100.00 

These  materials,  together  with  building  stone   and  flags,  are    the 
only  products   of  economical  importance  which  this  group  will  be 
likely  to  afford. 
% 

TEENTON   GEOUP. 

Under  this  general  head  we  include  the  Galena,  or  lead-bearing 
limestone  of  the  Northwest,  together  with  the  Blue  and  Buff  lime- 
stone which  underlie  the  lead  bearing  limestones,  thus  including  all 
the  calcareus  and  dolomitic  beds  from  the  St.  Peters  sandstone  to 
the  Cincinnati  group.  In  all  that  portion  of  the  State  examined 
north  of  the  coalfield,  the  sub-divisions  and  general  lithological  char- 
acters of  this  group  of  strata  are  similar  to  those  presented  by  it 
in  the  lead  region,  where  it  consists  of  the  following  divisions : 

Galena  or  lead  bearing  limestone 250  to  300  feet 

Thin-bedded  bluish-gray  limestone  (glass  rock  in  part) 50  to    75    " 

Buff  and  brown  magnesian  limestone 20  to    30    " 

The  Galena  limestone  is  by  far  the  most  interesting  and  important 
mineral-bearing  deposit  in  the  State,  being  the  principal  repository 
of  the  ores  of  lead  and  zinc,  the  former  of  which  has  been  success- 
fully mined  in  the  vicinity  of  Galena  ever  since  the  first  settlement 
of  the  country  by  the  French.  These  mines  are  said  to  have  been 
discovered  by  M.  LE  SEUEE,  who  made  an  exploring  trip  up  the 
Mississippi  in  the  year  1700,  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  work  the 
mines  until  nearly  a  century  later,  when  JTJLIEN  DUBUQUE,  a  half- 
breed  of  French  and  Indian  descent,  obtained  a  grant  of  land  from 
the  Fox  Indians,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  including  the 
present  site  of  the  city  of  Dubuque,  and  commenced  the  business  of 
lead  mining  in  1788,  which  he  prosecuted  successfully  until  his  death, 
in  1810.  From  that  time  the  business  was  gradually  extended,  and 
in  1823  the  tide  of  emigration  began  to  flow  rapidly  from  Kentucky 
and  some  of  the  eastern  States  towards  this  Eldorado  of  the  North- 
west, and  in  the  next  succeeding  decade  "diggings"  had  extended  over 
nearly  the  whole  extent  of  the  lead-bearing  rocks  of  this  region, 
including  also  that  portion  of  the  mineral  region  embraced  in  the 
present  area  of  the  States  of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin. 

The  village  of  Galena  was  laid  off  in  1827,  and  permits  were  granted 
to  individuals  to  occupy  and  improve  lots  on  condition  that  they  were 


110  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

to  be  surrendered  to  the  United  States  Agent  upon  thirty  days'  notice. 
These  permits  were  the  only  titles  the  citizens  had  to  their  lots  or 
improvements  up  .to  1838,  when  the  town  was  re-surveyed  under  an 
act  of  Congress,  and  the  settlers  allowed  a  pre-emption  right  to  their 
lots  and  improvements.  The  mining  region  in  Illinois  is  mostly  con- 
fined to  the  area  included  in  the  county  of  JoDaviess,  though  small 
amounts  of  lead  ore  have  been  raised  in  the  adjoining  counties  of 
Carroll  and  Stephenson.  For  further  details  in  regard  to  the  litho- 
logical  characters  of  the  lead-bearing  limestones,  as  well  as  the  mode 
of  occurrence  of  the  metallic  ores  which  they  contain,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  report  of  Prof.  J.  D.  WHITNEY,  in  a  subsequent  chap- 
ter. Since  his  report  was  written,  however,  valuable  deposits  of 
galena  have  been  found  below  the  mouth  of  the  Galena  river,  in  a 
region  south  of  that  represented  on  the  crevice  map.  These  mines 
are  known  as  the  California  diggings,  and  the  lead-bearing  crevices 
were  first  discovered  where  they  intersect  the  river  bluffs  in  a  gen- 
eral east  and  west  direction. 

Although  a  great  amount  of  labor  has  been  expended  in  the  lead 
region  in  prospecting  for  the  ore,  there  is  a  large  extent  of  surface 
still  unexplored,  and  from  the  crude  manner  in  which  these  exami- 
nations have  been  conducted,  it  seems  quite  probable  that  some  of 
the  richest  deposits  of  ore  still  remain  hidden  in  the  rock.  New 
diggings  are  still  being  discovered  and  opened  every  year,  and  when 
the  operations  of  the  explorer  are  guided  to  some  extent  by  known 
facts  and  laws  in  regard  to  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  ore,  in- 
stead of  being  entirely  controlled  by  the  caprice  of  the  miner,  as 
has  generally  been  the  case,  the  results  can  not  fail  to  be  far  more 
satisfactory  than  they  have  been  heretofore. 

The  usual  method  of  prospecting  for  lead  ore  in  this  region  has 
been  to  sink  a  hole  down  to  the  rock  at  such  points  as  the  caprice 
of  the  miner  might  dictate,  in  search  of  a  crevice,  and  if  none  was 
found  at  the  place  first  selected,  the  hole  was  abandoned  and  a  new 
one  commenced  at  some  other  point.  Of  course  no  more  ground 
was  proved  by  this  kind  of  exploration  than  the  hole  actually  cov- 
ered. Probably  not  more  than  one  foot  in  a  hundred  of  the  entire  sur- 
face of  the  lead  region  has  been  proved  even  in  this  way,  while  the 
remaining  portion  is  still  unexplored. 

The  principal  lead-bearing  crevices  have  a  general  east  and  west 
direction,  and  consequently  an  adit  or  level  driven  into  a  hillside 
at  right  angles  to  the  general  course  of  the  lead-bearing  crevices, 
would  intersect  all  the  crevices  that  the  hill  might  contain  at  a  cer- 


TEENTON   GROUP.  Ill 

tain  level,  and  would  consequently  prove  a  considerable  extent  of 
surface.  These  levels  would  also  serve  to  drain  the  mines,  and 
thereby  greatly  add  to  the  economy  with  which  the  mines  might 
be  worked.  As  the  productive  crevices  are  for  the  most  part  con- 
fined to  certain  levels  or  "openings"  in  the  Galena  limestone,  which 
are  generally  well  known  to  the  practical  miners,  the  adit  should 
be  started  at  about  the  same  horizon  or  a  little  below  that  of  the 
productive  "opening"  it  was  intended  to  strike.  This  system  of 
proving  mining  ground  by  horizontal  drifts,  instead  of  perpendicular 
shafts,  was  first  suggested  by  Prof.  WHITNEY,  in  the  Iowa  Geolegical 
Eeport,  and  so  far  as  it  has  been  tried  the  result  has  been  quite 
satisfactory,  and  it  will,  no  doubt,  eventually  supercede  entirely  the 
superficial  system  heretofore  practiced  in  the  lead  region  of  the 
Northwest. 

The  galena  of  Northern  Illinois  contains  but  a  very  small  per 
cent,  of  silver,  the  average  product  of  seven  analyses*  by  Dr.  A. 
HAYES,  of  Boston,  for  the  Geological  Survey  of  Wisconsin,  being 
only  about  one  ounce  and  a  quarter  of  silver  to  the  ton  of  ore.  As 
these  assays  were  made  from  the  ores  produced  by  different  mines 
in  this  region,  the  result  may  be  taken  as  a  general  average  of  the 
amount  of  silver  contained  in  the  lead  ores  of  the  northwestern 
mines  in  this  and  the  adjoining  States. 

Although  the  Galena  limestone  is  found  to  extend  over  a  consid- 
erable portion  of  Stephenson,  Winnebago,  Carroll,  Ogle  and  Lee 
counties,  presenting  fhe  same  lithological  features  which  distinguish 
it  in  the  vicinity  of  Galena,  it  has  not  been  found  to  contain  any 
valuable  deposits  of  metallic  wealth  beyond  the  limits  of  JoDaviess 
and  adjoining  portions  of  Stephenson  and  Carroll  counties. 

At  Eockford  the  Galena  limestone  is  well  exposed,  forming  ridges 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  from  fifty  to  more  than  a  hundred  feet 
in  height,  above  Kock  river.  At  Foster's  quarry,  and  at  Corey's 
Bluff,  about  a  mile  below  the  city,  and  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
river,  the  rock  has  been  extensively  quarried,  the  quarries  showing 
a  perpendicular  face  of  limestone  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  in  thick- 
ness. At  Benj.  Kilbourne's  quarries,  one  mile  north  of  the  city, 
this  limestone  is  exposed  from  seventy  to  eighty  feet  in  thickness. 
The  upper  portion  of  the  mass  is  thin-bedded,  in  layers  from  one 
to  six  inches  thick,  while  towards  the  bottom  the  beds  are  quite 
massive,  and  afford  strata  from  three  to  five  feet  thick.  Fossils  are 

*  For  the  result  of  the  analyses  mentioned  above,  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Capt. 
E.  H.  Beebe.  of  Galena. 


112  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

tolerably  abundant  at  the  old  quarries  in  this  vicinity,  especially  a 
large  species  of  Receptaculites,  or  "Sun-flower  coral.'"  Two  or  three 
species  of  Pleurotomaria,  among  which  we  recognize  P.  lenticularis 
and  P.  subconica,  and  one  or  more  species  of  OrtJwceratites,  are 
among  the  most  common  forms  met  with. 

At  Savanna  the  Galena  limestone,  which  passes  below  the  river 
level  near  the  mouth  of  Apple  river,  again  appears,  forming  the 
plateau  on  which  the  town  is  built,  and  rising  to  a  height  of  about 
twenty-five  feet  above  the  river  level.  Some  lead  ore  has  been  found 
here  in  excavations  in  the  upper  beds  of  this  limestone.  Partial 
outcrops  of  this  rock  are  also  seen  on  Plum  river,  in  the  northern 
part  of  this  county. 

In  Lee  and  Ogle  counties  it  forms  the  bluffs  of  Eock  river  for 
some  distance,  and  also  underlies  a  considerable  portion  of  both 
counties.  In  the  vicinity  of  Dixon,  the  exposures  of  this  limestone 
are  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  in  thickness,  above  the  level  of  the 
river,  the  upper  portion  of  which  is  generally  thin-bedded,  with 
more  massive  beds  below.  It  forms  the  main  portion  of  the  bluff 
from  Dixon  to  Sterling.  About  two  miles  above  Dixon  the  bluffs 
are  composed  of  the  lower  members  of  the  Trenton  group,  consist- 
ing of  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  of  thin-bedded  bluish-gray  limestone, 
weathering  to  a  drab  color,  presenting  characters  very  similar  to 
the  blue  limestone  of  the  lead  region,  of  which  it  is  undoubtedly  the 
equivalent.  It  abounds  in  fossils,  among  which  are  Strophomena 
alternata,  S.  deltoidea,  Asaphis  canalis,  Illenus  ovatus,  Leperdita  Can- 
adensis  ?  Maclurea  of  undetermined  species,  and  Orthoceratites. 
Below  these  thin  beds  there  are  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  of  massive 
brown  dolomitic,  limestone,  representing  the  base  of  the  Trenton 
series,  and  resting  upon  the  St.  Peters  sandstone. 

In  LaSalle  county  these  beds  are  frequently  overlaid  directly  by  the 
Coal  Measures,  and  they  appear  to  have  been  subjected  to  erosion 
before  the  deposit  of  the  coal-bearing  strata,  which  greatly  reduced 
the  thickness  of  the  group.  No  locality  was  observed  by  me  in  this 
county  where  the  Trenton  beds  attain  a  thickness  of  more  than 
forty  or  fifty  feet.  At  Homer,  on  the  Little  Vermilion,  there  is  an 
exposure  of  about  twenty  feet  of  brown  dolomitic  limestone,  in  rather 
thin  beds,  with  numerous  nodules  of  white  chert.  These  quarries 
have  afforded  some  fine  fossils,  among  which  are,  Gonioceras  an- 
ceps,  Favistella  stellata,  a  large  Lituites  like  L.  undatus,  and  two  or 
three  undetermined  species  of  Orthoceratites.  These  beds  rest  directly 
upon  the  St.  Peters  sandstone  at  this  locality.  These  dolomitic  beds 
He  at  the  base  of  the  Trenton  series  of  Northern  Illinois,  and  appear 


TRENTON   GROUP.  118 

to  be  the  equivalent  of  the  first  Magnesian  limestone  of  the  Missouri 
Report,  and  hold  apparently  about  the  same  stratigraphical  position 
as  the  Black  river  limestone  of  the  New  York  series.  It  thickens 
evidently  towards  the  southwest,  and  is  said  by  Dr.  SHUMARD  to  be 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  thick  in  Cape  Girardeau  county,  in  Mis- 
souri, but  we  have  not  seen  it  in  Illinois  more  than  from  sixty  to 
eighty  feet  in  thickness. 

South  of  the  northern  boundary  of  the  coal  field,  the  Trenton 
limestone  appears  at  four  localities  on  the  western  borders  of  the 
State.  In  Calhoun  county  it  forms  the  main  part  of  the  bluff  from 
a  point  four  miles  below  Gilead  to  Cap  au  Gris,  and  first  appears 
at  the  base  of  the  bluff,  forming  a  low  bench  but  little  above  the  level 
of  the  river  bottoms.  It  rises  rapidly,  however,  towards  the  south, 
and  forms  a  mural  bluff,  more  than  a  hundred  feet  in  height, 
about  three  miles  below  its  first  point  of  outcrop.  The  upper  part 
consists  of  a  coarse,  granular,  yellowish-gray  limestone,  in  tolerably 
regular  beds,  from  six  inches  to  two  feet  thick.  It  is  rather  un- 
evenly textured,  from  which  cause  it  weathers  with  a  very  irregular 
surface.  Below  this  coarse-grained  limestone  we  find  about  twenty 
feet  in  thickness  of  fine-grained  chocolate  colored  limestone,  in  thin 
beds  from  two  to  six  inches  thick.  Below  the  chocolate  colored 
limestone  there  is  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  or  more  of  thin-bedded, 
compact  gray  limestone,  the  lower  part  of  which  is  thickly  charged 
with  fucoids,  among  which  the  peculiar  species  described  in  the 
New  York  Eeports  under  the  name  of  Pkytopsis  tubulosum  is  con- 
spicuous, and  which  gives  to  the  polished  specimens  of  the  rock 
that  peculiar  appearance  which  has  suggested  the  name  of  "Birds- 
eye  Limestone"  for  some  of  the  lower  beds  of  this  series  in  New 
York. 

Below  these  fucoidal  beds  are  a  series  of  buff  and  brown  magne- 
sian  limestones,  in  regular  beds  from  six  to  eighteen  or  twenty 
inches  in  thickness.  This  portion  of  the  group  has  not  been  accu- 
rately measured,  but  has  been  estimated  approximately  at  from  sixty 
to  seventy  feet.  These  beds  afford  an  excellent  building  stone,  and 
may  be  readily  quarried,  at  the  Cap  au  Ores  bluff,  and  lowered  into 
lighters  or  barges  lying  at  the  shore,  and  cheaply  transported  to  any 
point  on  the  river  where  material  of  this  kind  is  required.  No  fos- 
sils have,  as  yet,  been  collected  from  these  magnesian  beds,  and  but 
few  from  the  gray  limestones  above.  Favistella  stellata  and  Illenus 
ovatus,  together  with  Strophomena  alternata  and  S.  deltoidea,  are  the 
principal  forms  identified.  On  the  lower  side  of  the  Cap  au  Ores 


114  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

axis  these  beds   are   thrown  entirely  below  the  surface  and  do  not 

• 

appear  again  in  this  county.  In  Jersey  county,  where  this*  axis 
crosses  the  Illinois,  there  is  about  forty  feet  of  the  upper  part  of 
the  Trenton  limestone  elevated  above  the  surface,  presenting  a  series 
of  thin-bedded  bluish-gray  limestone  strata,  with  shaly  partings, 
which,  with  a  strong  easterly  dip,  soon  pass  below  the  level  of  the 
river,  and  are  only  to  be  seen  at  a  single  'point  of  outcrop,  about 
five  miles  above  Mason's  Landing. 

In  Monroe  county,  the  Trenton  limestone  again  appears,  forming 
the  base  of  the  bluff  known  as  Salt  Lick  Point.  It  outcrops  here  in 
remarkably  heavy  beds,  some  of  which  are  from  four  to  seven  feet 
thick,  and  consist  of  a  coarse-grained  even-textured  limestone,  of  a 
light  gray  color.  It  forms  the  centre  of  an  anticlinal  axis  here,  ris- 
ing about  a  hundred  feet  above  the  river  bottom  at  the  point  of 
greatest  elevation,  and  rapidly  disappears  with  a  reversed  dip  on  the 
south  side  of  the  axis.  These  massive 'beds  afforded  the  huge  blocks 
of  limestone  for  the  columns  of  the  Court  House  in  St.  Louis, 
which  were  obtained  on  the  Missouri  side  of  the  river,  at  the  Sulphur 
Spring. 

The  last  appearance  of  the  Trenton  limestone  in  Southern  Illinois 
is  in  Alexander  county,  where  another  axis  brings  this  formation 
above  the  surface,  forming  the  reef  of  rocks  known  as  the  "Grand 
Chain."  which  crosses  the  Mississippi  just  below  Thebes,  and  forms, 
at  low  water,  a  difficult  and  dangerous  impediment  to  the  navigation 
of  the  river.  This  limestone  is  elevated,  on  the  Illinois  shore,  to 
the  height  of  about  seventy  feet,  and  is  composed  of  maBsive  beds 
of  light-gray  semi-crystalline  even-textured  limestone,  some  beds  of 
which  take  a  fine  polish  and  form  an  elegant  and  durable  building 
material.  It  has  been  extensively  quarried  at  Cape  Girardeau,  on 
the  Missouri  shore,  for  many  years,  and  has  obtained  considerable 
celebrity  under  the  name  of  Cape  Girardeau  Marble.  It  dresses 
easily  and  is  an  excellent  material  for  columns,  caps  and  sills,  and 
all  other  uses  for  which  a  dressed  stone  is  required.  The  exposure 
on  the  Illinois  shore  embraces  only  the  upper  part  of  this  formation, 
but  it  includes  all  of  that  portion  which  affords  the  finest  building 
material.  An  analysis  of  this  limestone,  by  Mr.  PRATTEN,  gave  the 
following  result : 

Moisture 1.07 

Insoluble  matter 06 

Carbonate  of  lime 97.08 

Alumina,  with  a  trace  of  iron ; 20 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 1.59 

100.00 


ST.    PETERS  SANDSTONE.  115 

The  Trenton  group  everywhere  affords  excellent  building  stone 
throughout  its  whole  extent  of  outcrop.  In  the  vicinity  of  Dixon 
and  Eockford  the  Galena  limestone  is  extensively  used,  both  for 
foundation  and  outer  walls,  and  some  of  the  most  compact  beds 
dress  very  well  and  are  entirely  reliable  for  outside  walls.  Some  of 
the  layers  of  blue  limestone,  two  miles  north  of  Dixon,  take  a  fine 
polish,  and  make  a  very  handsome  appearance  as  an  ornamental 
stone.  Nearly  the  whole  thickness  of  this  formation  in  Calhoun 
county,  which  is  not  less  than  three  hundred  feet,  is  of  economical 
value  for  building  purposes  and  the  manufacture  of  lime. 

The  fossils  collected  from  this  formation  have  not  yet  been -critic- 
ally examined,  and  some  of  the  most  important  localities  have  not 
yet  been  thoroughly  explored  for  the  purpose  of  collecting,  and 
hence  we  shall  not  attempt  to  give  an  extended  catalogue  of  the 
characteristic  species  at  this  time ;  but  among  those  collected  in 
Alexander  county,  we  recognize  Strophomena  alternata,  Orthis  testu- 
dinaria,  O.  lynx,  Rhynchonella  capax,  Receptaculites  Oweni,  and  Illce- 
nus  Trentonensis.  These  were  all  obtained  from  the  upper  part  of 
the  bed,  in  the  white  limestone. 

ST.    PETERS   SANDSTONE. 

This  formation  has  been  recognized  at  several  localities  in  this 
State,  forming  the  upper  part  of  what  may  be  considered  as  the 
Western  equivalent  of  the  Calciferous  sandstone  series  in  New  York. 
Its  most  northern  outcrop  in  this  State  is  on  Eock  river,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Grand  de  Tour,  where  it  forms  the  arch  of  an  anticlinal 
axis,  and  outcrops  along  the  river  bluffs  for  several  miles,  in  the 
vicjnity  of  Oregon  City  and  Grand  de  Tour.  A  short  distance  below 
the  last  named  point,  it  dips  below  the  "Trenton  limestone  and  is 
seen  no  more  on  Eock  river.  It  also  outcrops  along  the  bluffs  of 
the  Illinois  river,  between  LaSalle  and  Ottawa,  forming  an  anticlinal 
axis  with  the  lower  Magnesian  limestone  as  a  nucleus.  It  outcrops 
over  a  part  of  several  townships  in  the  central  part  of  LaSalle  county, 
and  is  sometimes  surmounted  by  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  of  Trenton 
limestone,  and  at  other  localities  is  directly  overlaid  by  the  Coal 
Measures,  as  may  be  observed  in  the  vicinity  of  Ottawa. 

The  island-like  plateau  known  as  the  ''Starved  Rock,"  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Illinois  river,  between  LaSalle  and  Ottawa,  is 
formed  entirely  of  this  sandstone.  It  is  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet  above  the  river  level,  and  the  base  of  the  sandstone 
is  still  hidden  below  the  river  bed.  Its  entire  thickness  here  is 


116  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

probably  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Its  general  char- 
acter at  all  the  localities  observed  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
State,  is  that  of  a  white  soft  incoherent  sandstone,  composed  almost 
entirely  of  grains  of  crystalline  quartz,  with  scarcely  any  cementing 
material,  and  crumbles  so  easily  under  a  blow  of  the  hammer  that  it  is 
often  very  difficult  to  obtain  a  hand  specimen.  There  are,  however, 
some  beds  in  the  vicinity  of  Oregon  City,  which  are  finer  grained  and 
quite  coherent  in  texture,  probably  from  the  presence  of  calcareous 
matter  as  a  cement,  and  these  afford  a  very  good  building  stone. 

Its  great  value,  however,  consists  in  its  adaptation  to  the  manu- 
facture of  glass ;  being  composed  almost  entirely  of  pure  silica,  often 
quite  free  from  coloring  matter,  it  is  one  of  the  very  best  materials 
yet  discovered  in  the  West  for  this  purpose.  It  is  exactly  the  same 
sandstone  that  is  known  in  Missouri  under  the  name  of  Saccharoidal 
sandstone,  and  which  has  been  transported  to  Pittsburgh  by  the 
quantity,  for  the  use  of  the  glass  manufacturers.  In  LaSalle  county 
we  have  this  sandstone  in  inexhaustible  quantities,  in  the  near  prox- 
imity to  an  adequate  supply  of  coal,  and  with  every  desired  facility 
of  water  and  railroad  transportation  to  all  the  principal  markets  of 
the  country.  No  good  reason  can  be  assigned  why  Illinois  should 
not  manufacture  not  only  all  the  glass  required  for  home  consump- 
tion, but  also  enough  for  the  supply  of  the  whole  Mississippi  valley. 

On  the  western  border  of  the  State  we  find  this  sandstone  out- 
cropping in  Calhoun  county,  forming  the  lower  part  of  what  is 
known  as  the  Cap  au  Gres  bluff.  It  appears  here  a  soft  friable 
brown  sandstone,  considerably  stained  with  oxide  of  iron,  which 
renders  it  less  adapted  to  the  economical  uses  above  named  than 
it  is  at  its  more  northern  points  of  outcrop.  It  presents  here  a 
concretionary  structure,  with  but  slight  traces  of  a  true  stratifica- 
tion. Only  the  upper  part  of  the  bed  is  exposed  here  about  a  hun- 
dred feet  in  thickness.  No  trace  of  any  organic  form,  either  of 
animal  or  vegetable  origin,  has  as  yet  been  found  in  this  sandstone  in 
Illinois.  South  of  this  point  it  has  not  been  met  with  in  Southern 
Illinois,  though  its  outcrops  are  numerous  on  the  Missouri  side  of 
the  river.  At  Bailey's  Landing,  Mo.,  where  the  "Bake  Oven"  axis 
strikes  the  Mississippi,  this  rock  becomes  quite  metamorphic,  and 
some  portion  of  it  is  a  pure  white  quartzite.  There  is  also  a  bed  of 
massive  quartzite  exposed  on  the  river  bank,  just  above  the  town 
of  Commerce,  in  Missouri,  which  probably  belongs  to  the  same 
formation. 


LOWER  MAGNESIAN  LIMESTONE.  117 


LOWEE  MAGNESIAN  LIMESTONE. 

This  formation,  which  is  the  oldest  rock  yet  discovered  in  this 
State,  has  only  been  observed  at  a  single  locality  in  LaSalle  county, 
between  LaSalle  and  Utica,  wl  ere  it  forms  the  arch  of  an  anticlinal 
axis,  which  crosses  the  Illinois  river  at  this  point.  Only  a  part  of 
the  bed  appears  above  the  surface,  including  about  a  hundred  feet 
in  thickness  of  thin-bedded  buff  colored  dolomitic  limestone,  in  beds 
which  vary  in  thickness  from  one  inch  to  a  foot  or  more.  Some  of 
the  layers  are  covered  with  septaria-like  markings  on  the  surface, 
which  do  not  penetrate  far  into  the  strata.  This  formation  affords 
an  excellent  bed  of  hydraulic  limestone*  about  eight  feet  in  thick- 
ness, which  supplies  the  extensive  cement  mills  of  Messrs.  Clark  & 
Co.,  of  Utica.  The  beds  quarried  for  hydraulic  cement  consist  of 
thin  layers  of  buff  and  bluish-gray  limestone,  and  belong  to  the 
upper  part  of  the  formation.  The  quarries  are  opened  in  the  valley 
of  the  Illinois  river,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  town,  where  the 
overlying  beds  have  been  removed  by  the  denuding  forces  that  exca- 
vated the  valley,  leaving  the  hydraulic  limestone  near  the  surface, 
where  it  can  be  readily  and  cheaply  quarried.  This  is  the  best 
hydraulic  rock  yet  found  in  this  State,  and  the  cheapness  with 
which  it  can  be  quarried,  its  proximity  to  the  coal  beds  that  furnish 
the  required  fuel,  and  the  facilities  for  transportation  to  market,  both 
by  canal  and  railroad,  will  enable  the  owners  of  these  quarries  to 
bid  defiance  to  other  localities  in  the  manufacture  of  hydraulic 
cement.  As  a  building  stone,  this  rock  is  not  equal  to  the  Magne- 
sian  limestone  of  the  Trenton  and  Niagara  series,  and  at  Utica  the 
more  compact  layers  of  the  St.  Peters  sandstone,  some  of  which 
harden  on  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  are  preferred.  A  single 
species  of  a  spiral  univalve  shell,  probably  a  Murchisonia,  is  the 
only  fossil  we  have  found  in  this  rock.  Some  of  the  hydraulic  beds 
are  covered  with  short  cylindrical  forms  that  may  be  due  to  fucoids. 

*  Messrs.  BLANEY  &  MARINER'S  analysis  of  this  hydraulic  limestone  gave  the  following 
results,  in  per  cent.: 

Carbonate  of  lime 43.50 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 30.07 

Clay 20.00 

Free  silica 1.00 

Carbonate  of  iron 2.00 

Potash 18 

Water 3.00 

99.75 


CHAPTER    Y. 

GEOLOGY  OF   THE   LEAD  EEGION. 
BY  PROF.  J.  D.  WHITNEY. 


To  A.  H.  Worthen,  State  Geologist  of  Illinois: 

SIR: — In  accordance  with  your  instructions,  I  herewith  submit  a 
"Report  on  the  Lead  Region  of  Northwestern  Illinois."  Having  been 
employed  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the  time  since  1865  in  examining 
the  lead  region  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  while  engaged  in  the  service 
of  the  States  of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  I  have  had  the  opportunity  of 
making  myself  pretty  well  acquainted  with  the  geology  of  the  adja- 
cent corner  of  Illinois,  and  have  personally  examined  many  of  the 
most  important  and  interesting  points.  The  small  amount  of  money 
furnished  by  you  for  the  purpose  of  collecting.additional  information 
has  been  mainly  devoted  to  having  the  lead-bearing  crevices  sur- 
veyed and  located,  in  order  that  a  map  of  them  could  be  furnished, 
and  to  some  additional  geological  explorations  in  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  lead  region  of  Illinois,  so  that  the  different  rock  formations 
might  be  laid  down  with  an  approach  to  accuracy. 

I  have  endeavored  to  give,  in  my  report  herewith  furnished  you, 
a  concise  account  of  that  portion  of  the  lead  region  which  lies 
within  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  at  the  same  time  would  refer  you, 
for  more  detailed  information,  to  my  "Keport  to  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Wisconsin,"  just  completed,  and  which 
will  be  printed  during  the  coming  winter.  Accompanying  the  Wis- 
consin Eeport  are  two  maps,  one  of  which  is  a  geological  one  of  the 
whole  lead  region  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  on  a  scale  of  half  an 
inch  to  the  mile ;  the  other,  a  crevice  map  of  the  region  between 
Dubuque,  Galena  and  Shullsburg,  on  the  same  scale  as  the  one 
furnished  with  this  report.  I  have  also,  in  my  report  to  Wisconsin, 


GEOLOGY   OF  THE    LEAD  EEGION.  119 

gone  at  some  length  into  the  theory  of  the  formation  of  the  lead 
deposits,  the  prospects  of  deep  mining,  and  other  points  of  interest 
which  the  limits  of  this  partial  report  would  not  permit  me  to  discuss 
in  it.  As  whatever  is  published  by  the  State  of  Wisconsin  will 
undoubtedly  be  accessible  to  those  in  Illinois  who  are  especially 
interested  in  lead  mining,  the  present  report  need  only  be  consid- 
ered as  giving  a  general  idea  of  the  region  to  those  in  other  parts 
of  the  State  who  have  no  special  motive  for  making  themselves 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  whole  subject. 

The  surveys  of  the  crevices  were  made,  under  my  direction,  by 
Mr.  U.  G.  SCHELLEE,  of  Galena ;  and  in  a  portion  of  the  field  and 
office  work  connected  with  this  report  I  have  had  the  assistance  of 
Dr.  J.  P.  KIMBALL. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  several  gentlemen  residing  in  the  lead 
region  for  assistance  and  advice,  given  at  different  times  during  the 
past  five  years,  while  I  have  been  engaged  in  investigating  the 
geology  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  valley.  To  Messrs.  E.  H  BEEBE 
and  AUGUSTUS  ESTEY,  of  Galena,  I  am  under  especial  obligations  for 
many  favors ;  also,  to  J,  W.  FOSTER,  Land  Commissioner  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Eailroad,  for  various  facilities  afforded  by  the  com- 
pany. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  D.  WHITNEY. 

NORTHAMTON,    MASS.,    Oct.    1,    1860. 


120  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


BEPOKT. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

The  lead  bearing  district  of  Illinois,  in  the  northwestern  corner 
of  the  State,  forms  a  portion  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  lead. region, 
which  occupies  an  extensive  area  in  the  three  States  of  Wisconsin, 
Illinois  and  Iowa,  where  they  corner  with  each  other.  The  whole 
area  over  which  lead  has  been  raised  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be 
worthy  of  notice,  is  about  4,000  square  miles,  of  which  nearly  two- 
thirds  is  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  and  the  other  third  about 
equally  divided  between  Illinois  and  Iowa.  The  most  productive 
portion  of  the  region,  however,  is  that  which  lies  between  Dubuque, 
Galena  and  Shullsburg,  so  that  both  Iowa  and  Illinois  raise  more 
lead,  in  proportion  to  the  area  over  which  mining  operations  have 
been  extended,  than  Wisconsin  does.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  give 
the  exact  amount  for  each  State,  as  the  imaginary  line  which  separ- 
ates Illinois  from  Wisconsin  has  no  influence  in  the  division  of 
property  or  the  supplies  of  ore  furnished  to  smelting  works.  Some 
of  the  heaviest  deposits  of  ore  in  Wisconsin  are  owned  or  managed 
by  citizens  of  Illinois. 

The  lead  bearing  district  in  Illinois  is  entirely  comprised  within 
the  limits  of  JoDaviess  and  Stephenson  counties,  and  by  far  the 
larger  portion  is  in  the  first  named  county.  Indeed,  although  ore 
has  been  found  and  mined,  to  some  extent,  in  Stephenson,  and 
although  the  proper  lead  bearing  rock  covers  a  large  area  in  that 
county,  as  will  be  noticed  further  on,  yet  we  are  not  aware  of  any 
digging  now  in  operation  outside  of  JoDaviess  county.  In  fact,  a 
circle  of  four  miles  radius,  with  its  center  situated  a  little  northeast 
of  Galena,  would  include  nearly  all  the  productive  diggins,  with  the 
exception  of  those  at  Apple  river  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Elizabeth; 
and  certainly  nine-tenths  of  the  ore  raised  in  Illinois  come  from 
the  area  included  within  that  circle  of  only  eight  miles  in  diameter. 

For  a  long  time,  a  large  share,  indeed  almost  the  whole  of  the 
business  of  the  lead  region  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  was  done  at 
Galena :  which,  before  the  building  of  railroads,  was  the  natural 
outlet  of  Southwestern  Wisconsin.  From  this  point  the  lead  smelted 
was  shipped  down  the  Mississippi  river  to  St.  Louis,  and  there 
found  its  way  all  over  the  south  and  west,  and  for  a  time,  even  to 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   KEGION.  121 

the  Atlantic  States  and  Europe.  The  present  prosperity  and  solid 
standing  of  Galena  among  western  cities,  are  chiefly  due  to  the 
fortunes  accumulated  during  the  palmy  days  of  the  lead  business, 
when  from  20.000  to  25,000  tons  of  the  metal  were  shipped  down 
the  river,  an  amount  equal  at  that  time  to  from  one-fifth  to  one- 
fourth  of  the  produce  of  the  world.  The  city  took  its  name  from 
the  ore  of  lead  to  whose  existence  in  the  surrounding  rocks  it  owed 
its  rise  and  prosperity;  this  name  was  given  to  the  town  in  1827, 
by  a  Scotchman  named  Muir,  as  I  have  been  informed  by  some  of 
the  old  citizens.  The  first  settlers  found  their  way  to  this  remote 
corner  of  the  United  States  about  the  year  1821,  chiefly  from  the 
southwestern  and  middle  States.  Mining  was  in  actual  progress  by 
1827,  and  the  whole  lead  region  was  actively  explored  from  one  end 
to  the  other  in  a  very  short  time,  so  that  in  a  few  years  not  a 
single  district  of  importance  remained  undiscovered.  The  period  of 
greatest  production  was  from  1840  to  1850,  and  the  maximum 
was  reached  about  1845.  Since  that  time  there  has  been  a  gradual 
decline  in  the  quantity  of  ore  raised,  until  within  the  last  two  years,  t 
when  the  general  financial  distress  of  the  West  and  the  failure  of 
crops  caused  the  attention  of  many  to  be  turned  towards  mining 
again,  for  want  of  other  and  more  remunerative  employment ;  and 
the  consequence  is,  that  the  production  of  lead  has  undoubtedly 
greatly  increased  since  the  year  1858.  The  records  of  the  shipments 
from  Galena,  Dubuque  and  other  points  on  the  river,  were  faithfully 
kept  by  E.  H.  Beebe,  Esq.,  of  Galena,  as  long  as  the  produce  of 
the  smelting  furnaces  went  to  market  exclusively  by  the  river  route. 
On  the  completion  of  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad,  the  lead  soon 
began  to  find  its  way  to  Chicago,  in  part  by  rail,  and  since  1853 
we  have  no  exact  returns  of  the  annual  production.  As  by  far  the 
larger  portion  of  the  lead  smelted  goes  either  to  St.  Louis  or  Chicago 
for  reshipment  or  manufacture,  by  combining  the  receipts  at  those 
two  cities  we  shall  have  a  pretty  near  approximation  to  the  amount 
actually  produced.  There  are  no  manufacturing  establishments  in 
the  lead  region  which  use  up  any  considerable  amount  of  the  metal, 
those  near  Dubuque  not  having  been  put  in  successful  operation. 
From  the  returns  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  and  the  St.  Louis 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  we  have  compiled  the  following  table : 

TONS*  or  LEAD  RECEIVED.  1853.        1854.        1855.        1856.       1857.        1858.         1859- 

At  Chicago 1,452       1,895       4,449       2,919       1,900       3,870        

AtSt-Louis 14,248      10,123       9,757       6,076       6,347       9,496         8,262 

15.700      12,018      14,206       8,995       8,247      13,366         8,226 

*  The  ton  equals  2,240. 

t  This  report  was  made  in  1860. 


122  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  amount  received  at  St.  Louis  was  rapidly  falling  off  up  to 
1857,  but  the  discovery  of  new  mines  in  Southwestern  Missouri 
began  to  add  sensibly  to  the  receipts  at  that  city.  Before  1858,  the 
receipts  at  St.  Louis  from  Missouri  mines  were  almost  insignificant ; 
but  since  that  time  they  have  been  growing  in  importance,  as  will 
be  seen  by  the  annexed  table  of  receipts  by  river  and  railroad : 

PIGS  OF  LEAD  BECKIVED  AT  ST.  LOUIS.  1856.  1857.  1858.  1859. 

Byriver 214,656        162,555        228,897        157,265 

By  railroad 14,628          37,847          75,000        107,115 

What  portion  of  the  whole  amount  of  lead  raised  in  the  lead 
region  comes  from  diggins  situated  within  the  limits  of  Illinois,  we 
find  ourselves  unable  to  state,  but  think  it  probable  that  it  may  be 
about  one-sixth. 

Having  thus  given  some  idea  of  the  relative  importance  of  the 
mining  region,  we  will  proceed  to  some  of  the  more  interesting  facts 
connected  with  its  geology,  and  in  this  we  shall  preserve  the  fol- 
lowing order: 

1st.  The  principal  topographical  features  of  the  Illinois  lead 
egion  will  be  briefly  sketched,  and  a  few  words  added  in  regard  to  the 
surface  geology. 

2d.  The  different  rocks  which  occur  there  will  be  described  in 
their  geological  order. 

3d.     The  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  lead  ore  will  be  noticed ;  and 

4th.  Some  account  of  the  different  diggins,  their  positions,  pecu- 
liarities of  form,  extent  of  the  workings,  amount  of  ore  produced, 
etc.,  will  be  given,  so  far  as  the  dates  are  accessible,  or  the  facts 
have  been  collected. 

SECTION    I. 

Topography  of  the  Lead  Region  of  Illinois. 

The  district  under  consideration,  although  not  one  which  in  most 
parts  of  the  world  would  be  called  mountainous,  or  even  hilly,  is, 
in  comparison  with  this  portion  of  Illinpis,  quite  a  broken  and  pic- 
turesque region.  It  includes  the  most  elevated  region  of  the  State. 

The  Mississippi  river  bounds  it  on  the  west,  having  a  southeast 
course,  while  its  principal  tributaries  have  a  nearly  south  direction. 
JoDaviess  county  is  chiefly  drained  by  Fever  and  Apple  rivers ;  the 
smaller  streams  are  the  Menomonee,  Sinsinnewa,  Plum  and  Rush 
creeks.  These  are  all  valuable  as  furnishing  water  power  at  various 
points  along  their  courses.  All  the  above  named  streams  are  directly 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   REGION.  123 

tributary  to  the  Mississippi.  Stephenson  county  is  drained  by  the 
Peccatonica  and  its  branches,  of  which  the  Yellow  river  is  the  most 
important ;  the  Peccatonica  flows  into  the  Illinois  river,  after  pursu- 
ing a  tortuous  course  through  the  county,  having  collected  with  its 
numerous  branches  a  large  part  of  the  surface  waters  of  the  lead 
region  in  Wisconsin. 

In  Northwestern  Illinois  the  streams  are  usually  bordered  by  high 
and  precipitous  bluffs,  which  decrease  in  altitude  as  we  go  from  the 
northwest  towards  the  southeast.  In  the  corner  of  the  State  west 
of  Apple  river,  the  smallest  creeks  are  hemmed  in  by  almost  ver- 
tical walls  of  rock,  inclosing  a  narrow  strip  of  bottom  land,  in 
which  the  streams  meander  from  side  to  side  with  a  very  crooked 
course.  The  height  of  these  bluffs  is  usually  from  one  hundred  to 
two  hundred  feet.  The  ridges  between  the  smaller  branches  of  the 
streams  are  frequently  narrow,  and  precipitous  on  both  sides. 

The  principal  feature  of  the  topography  of  the  northwestern  corner 
of  Illinois  is  formed  by  the  outcrop  of  the  Niagara  limestone,  and 
the  Mounds,  which  are  outliers  capped  with  this  formation.  As  it 
will  be  more  convenient  to  describe  these  under  the  head  of  the 
Niagara  limestone,  in  the  next  section,  the  further  consideration  of 
this  division  will  be  postponed  to  that  place. 

SURFACE    GEOLOGY. 

The  surface  geology  of  the  northwestern  corner  of  Illinois  is  of 
a  very  simple  character.  As  has  been  very  fully  set  forth  in  the  Wis- 
consin Eeport,  before  referred  to,  the  larger  portion  of  the  lead 
region  has  never  been  invaded  by  the  drift,  and  is,  therefore,  en- 
tirely free  from  all  accumulations  of  gravel,  pebbles  or  boulders. 
The  topographical  features  of  the  country  have  been  produced  by 
the  quiet  but  ceaseless  agency  of  water,  not  sweeping  over  the  sur- 
face in  the  mighty  currents  of  the  diluvial  epoch,  bearing  the  detritus 
of  northern  crystallized  rocks  and  grinding  down  and  bearing  away 
the  softer  strata,  but  falling  as  rain,  percolating  through  the  cal- 
careous and  magnesian  deposits,  and  gradually  carrying  them  off 
in  solution,  leaving  the  insoluble  portion  behind  in  the  form  in 
which  we  now  see  it  covering  the  solid  rock,  as  an  intimate  mixture 
of  the  finest  argillaceous  and  siliceous  particles.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  denudition  of  the  region  in  question  has  been  effected 
in  this  way.  The  facts  that  there  are  no  boulders  or  beds  of  gravel, 
pebbles  or  other  water-worn  materials  in  this  region;  that  the 
superficial  deposits  are  not  stratified ;  that  there  is  no  evidence  that 


124  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

they  have  been  moved  from  their  original  position ;  these,  and  other 
considerations  of  the  same  kind,  go  to  show  that  the  surface  has 
never  been  covered  by  water  since  the  earlier  geological  periods, 
and  certainly  not  during  the  quaternary  period,  or  that  of  the  drift, 
alluvium,  etc. 

The  extent  of  the  region  thus  elevated  above  the  oceanic  waters 
during  the  drift  epoch,  is  nearly  coincident  with  that  of  the  pro- 
ductive lead  region  in  Northwestern  Illinois,  Iowa,  and  Southwestern 
Wisconsin.  How  far  it  extends  north  of  the  Wisconsin  river  I  am 
unable  to  state  from  my  own  observation,  but  I  am  informed  by 
Mr.  LAPHAM  that  there  is  a  considerable  area  in  that  direction 
which  has  not  been  invaded  by  boulders. 

On  the  Iowa  side  of  the  Mississippi  we  find  small  pebble  stones 
in  the  superficial  detritus,  a  little  west  of  Dubuque ;  and  a  few 
miles  farther,  in  that  direction,  we  have  large  boulders  on  the  sur- 
face— the  line  between  the  region  of  boulders  and  that  in  which 
none  are  found,  running  nearly  parallel  with  the  river  and  four  to 
ten  miles  distant  from  it.  On  the  east,  in  Wisconsin,  the  line  indi- 
cating the  outline  of  the  boulderless  district  runs  between  the  Pecca- 
tonica  and  Sugar  rivers,  bending  to  the  south  as  it  enters  Illinois, 
and  crossing  the  former  river'  a  little  below  Winslow.  Large  boul- 
ders are  seen  in  Waddam's  Grove,  both  at  a  high  and  low  level ; 
but  in  a  direct  line  to  the  west  of  this  no  evidences  of  boulders  or 
drift  were  observed  as  far  as  the  Mississippi.  Two  large  boulders 
of  hornblende  rock,  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter,  were  noticed 
about  six  miles  south  of  Warren,  on  section  24,  township  28,  range 
4  east,  as  near  as  could  be  made  out.  These  were  quite  isolated, 
no  others  having  been  seen  anywhere  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
southern  limit  of  the  boulderless  region  I  have  not  been  able  to  lay 
down,  but  the  drift  certainly  sets  in  a  few  miles  south  of  Freeport. 

As  additional  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  statement  that  this  part 
of  the  country  has  not  been  under  water  since  the  deposition  of  the 
upper  Silurian  rocks,  it  may  be  noticed  that  only  the  remains  of 
land  animals  and  plants  are  found  in  the  superficial  detritus.  The 
bones  and  teeth  of  a  great  variety  of  species  are  frequently  obtained, 
at  various  depths,  in  the  lead  crevices,  mixed  with  clay  and  decom- 
posing rock,  having  been  washed  in  from  the  surface  and  carried 
down,  in  some  instances,  fifty  or  sixty  feet  before  finding  a  lodgment. 
The  most  abundant  among  the  remains  of  animals  thus  found  are 
those  of  the  Mastodon,  whose  teeth  and  bones  have  been  procured 
from  a  great  number  of  crevices,  over  the  whole  area  of  the  lead 
region,  showing  that  the  species  must  have  lived  and  flourished  in 


Plate  IV.— SECTION  OF  THE  BOCKS  OF  THE  LEAD  REGION  OF  UPPEE  MISSISSIPPI. 
The  bracketed  portion  of  the  Section  is  that  which  comes  to  the  surface  in  N.  W.  Illinois. 


LIMESTONE. 

1 

Mound  Limestone  of 

§ 

Percival.) 

300 

Dolomite  :  closely  resembles  the 

HH 

02 

Galena  Limestone  in  Litho- 

P3 

Coralline  and   Penta- 

logical  character. 

E 
S 

merus  beds  of  Upper 

Magnesian      Lime- 

stone of  Owen. 

Cincinnati  Group. 

60 

Siliceous  Shale  :  some  portions 

j               very  bituminous. 

GALENA 

1 

LIMESTONE. 

Upper  Magnesian  of 

Percival.) 

Dolomite  :    the  chief  depository 

275 

of  the  Lead  ore. 

[jead-bearing    beds  of 

Upper  Magnesian  of 

Owen. 

, 

Blue  Limestone. 

50 

Alternations  of  pure  with  magne- 
sian  and  argillaceous  limestone. 

1 

Buff  Limestone. 

25 

Argillaceous  Dolomite. 

3 

Upper  Sandstone. 

H 

DO 

St.  Peters  Sandstone  of 

80 

A  pure  Siliceous  Sandstone  :  not 

a 

Owen. 

recognized  east  of  Wisconsin. 

i 

s 

LOWER 

MAGNESIAN 

LIMESTONE. 

Dolomite  :    frequently  brecciated 

250 

and    concretionary  ;     contains 

Calciferous   Sandston 

small  deposits  ot  Lead  ore. 

of  New  York  Repor 

LOWER 

SANDSTONE. 

A  Siliceous  Sandstone,  often  fer- 

300 

ruginous.   Its  thickness  is  var- 

to 

iable,  but  is  not  less  than  300 

Potsdam  Sandstone  q/ 

500 

feet. 

'New  York  Report. 

• 

126  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

immense  numbers  and  through  a  long  period  of  time,  since  the 
chances  of  the  preservation  of  the  remains  of  any  one  individual 
by  being  washed  into  a  crevice  must  have  been  exceedingly  small. 
The  remains  of  both  living  and  extinct  species  are  found  in  the 
crevices  in  such  positions,  in  reference  to  each  other,  as  to  indicate 
pretty  clearly  that  they  were  living  together.  From  a  crevice  near 
the  Blue  Mounds  I  obtained  bones  and  teeth  of  the  Mastodon,  Pec- 
cary, Buffalo  and  Wolf — the  two  former  extinct,  the  two  latter  sup- 
posed to  be  identical  with  animals  now  living.  In  a  crevice  near 
Dubuque,  I  obtained,  with  the  teeth  and  bones  of  the  Megalonyx 
(an  extinct  animal  of  the  Sloth  family),  teeth  of  a  Peccary,  pro- 
nounced by  WYMAN  to  be  those  of  a  species  now  living.  This  animal 
was  once  very  abundantly  distributed  over  this  region,  since  its 
remains  are  found  in  many  of  the  crevices,  as  well  as  in  the  super- 
ficial detritus  in  Illinois  and  the  adjacent  States.  The  Elephant  was 
also  once  an  inhabitant  of  this  region,  although  apparently  much 
less  abundant  than  the  Mastodon.  A  few  teeth  found  near  the  sur- 
face at  Galena,  and  now  preserved  in  a  collection  in  that  city,  are 
all  the  remains  of  this  animal  that  I  have  met  with  in  the  lead 
region. 

SECTION    II. 

Character  of  the  Rocks  Exposed  in  the   Illinois  Lead  Region. 

The  range  of  geological  formations  or  groups  exposed  in  JoDaviess 
and  Stephenson  counties  is  very  limited.  There  is  nothing  seen 
lower  than  the  Blue  limestone,  or  higher  than  the  Niagara. 

The  annexed "  table,  plate  4,  shows  the  different  members  of  the 
series  which  appear  in  the  Upper  Mississippi  lead  region,  and  which 
underlie  the  rocks  occupying  the  surface  in  Northwestern  Illinois.  A 
reference  to  the  geological  map  will  show  how  these  formations  are 
distributed  in  JoDaviess  and  Stephenson  counties.  That  part  of  the 
series  which  is  included  within  the  brackets  includes  the  rocks  ex- 
posed at  the  surface.  From  the  section  it  will  be  seen  that  the  three 
lowest  members  of  the  series  do  not  come  to  the  surface  in  the  lead 
region  of  Illinois,  although  they  will  all  be  passed  through  succes- 
sively in  sinking  a  shaft  to  a  sufficient  depth  below  the  surface. 

The  stratified  fossiliferous  rocks  which  are  exhibited  in  the  section 
rest  on  a  floor  of  crystalline  slaty  quartzose  and  granitic  rocks, 
forming  what  has  been  designated  as  the  Azoic*  system,  since,  as 

*  These  rocks  are  probably  the  equivalents  of  the  Huronian  system  of  Canada,  and  are 
metamorphic  sedimentary  strata,  and  not  true  Azoic.  A.  H.  W. 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE    LEAD   EEGION.  127 

far  as  the  evidence  goes,  it  was  deposited  previous  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  organic  life  upon  the  globe.-  To  reach  this  series,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  sink  probably  about  a  thousand  feet  at  Galena.  It  is 
the  same  series  of  rocks  which  is  exposed  in  the  iron  region  of  Lake 
Superior. 

Above  the  Azoic  lies  the  Potsdam  or  Lower  sandstone,  a  forma- 
tion which  covers  a  vast  extent  of  surface  in  Northern  and  Central 
Wisconsin,  but  which  does  not  emerge  anywhere  in  Illinois,  so  far 
as  I  know.  This,  as  recently  developed,  is  made  up  of  a  series  of 
beds  of  almost  pure  siliceous  sandstone,  and  is  probably  from  300 
to  500  feet  thick.  It  is  quite  destitute  of  valuable  minerals,  except 
in  the  Lake  Superior  region,  where  it  is  associated  with  trappean 
rocks,  and  has  been  mineralized  by  them. 

Above  this  sandstone,  and  passing  into  it  by  alternating  beds  of 
siliceous  and  dolomitic  materials,  and  of  the  two  intermixed,  is  the 
lower  Magnesian  limestone,  as  it  is  commonly  called  in  the  lead 
region,  and  which  occupies  the  place  of  the  Calciferous  sandstone 
of  the  New  York  geological  survey.  It  is  a  heavy  body  of  almost 
pure  dolomite  or  carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia,  in  the  proportion 
of  one  atom  of  each.  It  is  from  250  to  30J  feet  thick  'as  exposed 
in  Northeastern  Iowa  and  along  the  Wisconsin  river.  Like  the  sand- 
stone which  lies  below  it,  it  is  very  rarely  found  to  contain  fossils. 
In  respect  to  its  metalliferous  character  much  discussion  has  been 
had.  It  is  a  favorite  idea  with  some  that  it  is  to  be  mined  in  to  a 
great  extent  at  some  future  time,  and  that  it  will  prove  to  be  a 
highly  valuable  formation.  After  a  complete  investigation  of  the 
matter,  while  engaged  on  the  survey  of  Wisconsin,  I  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  is  hardly  a  possibility  of  this  being  the  case. 
It  is  indeed  true  that  the  lower  Magnesian  contains,  at  a  number 
of  points,  more  or  less  galena ;  but  I  have  failed  to  find  any  evi- 
dence of  workings  having  been  profitably  carried  on  in  that  rock  for 
any  length  of  time.  In  the  Wisconsin  Eeport  I  have  gone  fully  into 
the  reasons  why  I  have  been  unable  to  advise  sinking  to  this  rock 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  or  proving  its  metalliferous  character ; 
and  as  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  such  attempts  will 
be  made  in  Illinois,  or  that  the  State  will  be  called  upon  to  furnish 
the  money  for  a  work  of  this  kind,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  do 
more  than  refer  to  the  subject  as  having  been  discussed  in  the 
report  mentioned  above. 

The  lower  Magnesian  just  comes  to  the  surface  in  the  arch  or 
undulation  of  the  strata  which  brings  up  the  lower  Silurian  groups 


128  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

near  LaSalle.  To  the  north  of  that  point,  in  Illinois,  I  believe  it 
does  not  make  its  appearance. 

In  the  ascending  order,  we  have  next  above  the  lower  Magnesian 
a  stratum  of  sandstone,  commonly  called  the  Upper,  or  St.  Peters 
sandstone ;  it  is  a  purely  siliceous  rock,  made  up  of  very  minute 
grains  of  quartz  of  quite  uniform  size,  not  held  together  by  any 
perceptible  cement,  except  here  and  there,  and  doubtless  destitute 
of  all  traces  of  any  fossils,  or  fragments  of  foreign  rock,  so  that  it 
is  difficult  to  account  for  its  formation  by  any  theory  which  recog- 
nizes it  as  of  a  detrital  origin.  It  is  well  exposed  on  the  bluffs  of 
many  of  the  streams  in  the  Wisconsin  portion  of  the  lead  region, 
but  no  where  appears  in  Illinois  north  of  the  axis  of  elevation  near 
LaSalle,  spoken  of  above,  where  its  whole  thickness  is  brought  up 
in  a  low  arch.  The  nearest  points  to  this  lead  region  at  which  it 
makes  its  appearance  on  the  Wisconsin  side  of  the  line,  are  at 
Buzzard's  Boost,  north  of  ^enton,  and  on  the  Peccatonica  river, 
north  of  Winslow.  Its  thickness  is  from  80  to  100  fe'et,  and  its 
persistency  over  so  large  an  area,  its  freedom  from  intercalated 
beds  of  magnesian  or  calcareous  matter,  as  well  as  the  entire 
absence  of  fossils  and  ores  in  it,  make  it  a  matter  of  no  little 
difficulty  to  account  for  the  altered  condition  under  which  it  was 
deposited  as  compared  with  those  prevailing  while  the  great  masses 
of  dolomite  and  limestone  above  and  below  it  were  thrown  down. 

The  rocks  enumerated  above,  although  underlying  the  lead  region 
everywhere,  are  not  brought  to  the  surface  in  Northwestern  Illinois, 
and  it  is  not  until  we  reach  the  Buff  and  Blue  limestone,  the  next 
members  of  the  series  above  the  Upper  sandstone,  that  we  have 
groups  which  are  exposed  within  the  limits  of  the  district  under 
consideration. 

That  portion  of  the  series  included  between  the  Upper  sandstone 
and  the  Galena  limestone,  as  seen  in  the  section,  is  usually  recog- 
nized in  the  Northwest  by  the  designation  of  the  Blue  Limestone, 
but  it  should,  from  its  lithological  and  paleontological  characters, 
be  separated  into  two  groups,  as  was  originally  done  by  Dr.  D.  D. 
OWEN,  in  his  report  on  the  Lead  Begion,  published  in  1840  and 
1844.  Of  these  the  Lower  or  the  Buff  Limestone,  as  it  has  been 
generally  called,  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  dolomitic  beds,  varying 
in  different  parts  of  Wisconsin  and  Iowa  from  15  to  25  feet  in 
thickness.  This  group  of  strata  is  especially  well  exposed  on  the 
various  branches  of  the  Peccatonica,  and  especially  in  the  vicinity 
of  Mineral  Point,  where  it  is  extensively  quarried  for  building  pur- 
poses. The  rock  of  which  it  is  made  up  is  a  dolomite,  but  containing 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   REGION.  129 

a  larger  percentage  of  insoluble  matter  than  either  the  lower 
Magnesian  or  Galena  limestone ;  the  various  analyses  show  from  10 
to  25  per  cent,  of  clay  and  sand  in  this  portion  of  the  series.  In 
general,  and  especially  in  the  western  part  of  the  lead  region  and 
in  Iowa,  the  Buff  limestone  is  very  unfossiliferous ;  but  in  the  Pec- 
catonica  valley  it  is  quite  well  supplied  with  organic  remains. 
These  seem  to  indicate  that  this  rock  is  closely  allied  to  the  Birds- 
eye  and  Black  river  limestone  of  the  New  York  Eeports.  The  most 
conspicuous  fossil  is  a  large  Lituites,  probably  L.  Undatus,  of  HALL, 
a  Black  river  fossil.  I  have  never  observed  it  in  any  other  than 
the  Buff.  Large  orthocerata  are  also  very  abundant  in  this  part  of 
the  series ;  also  gasteropods,  among  which  Murchisonia  and  Pleuro- 
tomaria  are  most  abundant. 

The  Buff  limestone  is  the  lowest  member  of  the  series  which  may 
properly  be  considered  to  belong  to  the  lead  bearing  rocks,  and  it 
is  very  rare  that  the  crevices  or  openings  are  worked  down  as  low 
as  this.  Only  in  one  or  two  instances  near  Mineral  Point,  at  the 
Crow  Branch  diggings,  and  perhaps  a  few  other  localities,  have  any 
productive  openings  been  met  with  as  low  down  as  this.  As  this 
rock  hardly  crops  out  at  all  in  the  Illinois  portion  of  the  lead 
region,  it  of  course  has  not  been  worked  in.  The  only  locality 
where  it  has  been  observed  is  at  Winslow,  on  the  Peccatonica, 
where  about  thirty  feet  of  a  thin-bedded  yellowish  dolomite  were 
exposed,  which  was  referred  to  the  Buff  limestone.  It  contains 
numerous  fossils  in  some  of  the  layers,  all  casts.  A  species  of 
Pleurotomaria,  probably  P.  sub-conica,  is  quite  abundant  here ;  also, 
Streptelasma,  identical  with  a  species  which  is  very  abundant  in  the 
lower  beds  of  the  Galena  limestone. 

The  Blue  limestone  proper,  or  the  Trenton  limestone,  lies  between 
the  Buff  and  the  Galena  limestone.  It  is  the  first  group  of  strata 
in  the  series,  as  developed  in  the  Northwest,  in  which  there  are  any 
purely  calcareous  beds.  Above  and  below,  all  the  rocks  other  than 
sandstones  or  shales  are  dolomitic,  or  at  least  contain  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  carbonate  of  magnesia.  Here,  also,  we  have,  for  the 
first  time  in  the  series,  an  abundant  development  of  organic  life, 
many  of  the  beds  of  the  Blue  being  replete  with  fossils. 

There  is  no  section  of  this  rock,  exposing  more  than  a  few  feet 
in  thickness,  to  be  seen  within  the  limit  of  Illinois,  although  it  occu- 
pies the  valley  of  Fever  river  from  the  forks  north  to  the  State 
line,  and  is  also  seen  on  the  Mississippi  at  Dunleith  and  above. 

In  its  full  development  it  is  about  fifty  feet  in  thickness,  made  up 
9 


130  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

of  the    following   divisions,   as-  measured    at   Quimby's    Mill,   near 
Benton,  in  Wisconsin : 

A  Very  fossiliferous,  thin-bedded  and  sometimes  rather  shaly  and  argillaceous  layers 
of  bluish-gray  color,  bleaching  of  a  dirty  white  on  exposure— 12  to  15  feet. 

B.  Gray  and  light  yellowish-gray  layers,  with  a  finely  crystalline  texture,  containing  a 
considerable  proportion  of  magnesia,  but  not  enough  to  form  dolomite,  and  remarkably 
free  from  insoluble  substances— thickness,  5  feet. 

C  a.  Pure  limestone:  very  compact,  brittle;  breaking  with  a  conchoidal  fracture;  color 
dark  gray  and  very  uniform,  both  in  texture  and  color;  rather  heavy-bedded,  but  not  so 
much  so  as  the  division  next  below  (6'  b.);  in  layers  from  6  to  8  inches  thick,  but  not  very 
regular;  fossils  few  in  number,  and  chiefly  in  the  shaly  partings  between  the  beds. 

0  b.  Very  heavy-bedded  and  regularly  stratified  layers,  of  nearly  the  same  color  and 
texture  as  the  division  next  above;  layers  18  to  24  inches  thick;  greatnumbers  ofStropho- 
mena  alternata  between  them:  the  lower  portion  more  shaly  and  passing  gradually  into 
the  Buff  limestone  below— 5  feet.  Total  thickness  exposed  of  the  Blue  limestone— 27  to  30 
feet. 

D.    Buff  limestone— 17  feet. 

Division  C,  as  above  designated,  is  the  glass  rock  proper,  as 
generally  designated  in  the  lead  region,  by  which  term  reference  is 
made  to  its  hardness  and  its  clear,  sharp  fracture  resembling  that 
of  glass.  It  is  a  very  pure  limestone,  containing  only  about  one  per 
cent,  of  insoluble  matter  and  a  trace  of  magnesia. 

The  Blue  limestone  varies  considerably  in  character  and  thickness 
in  different  parts  of  the  lead  region.  To  the  west  of  the  Mississippi 
it  becomes  thicker  and  less  easily  to  be  separated  from  the  Galena 
limestone  above.  To  the  northeast  it  grows  thinner,  and  the  whole 
of  the  series  from  the  Buff  upwards  is  commonly  called  the  glass 
rock. 

As  exposed  at  Dunleith,  and  above  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi, 
a  thickness  of  about  20  feet  of  the  upper  beds  of  the  Blue  limestone, 
or  of  beds  of  passage  from  the  Blue  into  the  Galena  limestone,  is 
seen.  These  layers,  which  are  from  six  to  eight  inches  thick,  are  of 
a  light  bluish-gray  color,  pretty  regularly  bedded  and  separated  by 
shaly  partings,  crowded  with  fossils,  which  weather  out  in  some  of 
the  strata  in  a  quite  perfect  manner.  The  most  abundant  of  these 
are  Strophomena  alternata,  everywhere  a  characteristic  species  of  the 
Blue,  Leptcena  sericea,  Ortkis,  n.  sp.,  Ceraur^s  (Cheirurus)  pleurexan- 
themus,  Isotelus  gigas  (Asaphus  canalis),  and  many  Crinoidal  frag- 
ments. 

The  fact  that  this  rock  splits  in  layers  of  a  suitable  size  for  build- 
ing purposes,  and  that  it  dresses  well,  being  quite  free  from  cherty 
masses,  renders  it  a  desirable  building  stone,  and  it  has  been  much, 
quarried  for  use  at  Dubuque,  especially  for  caps  and  sills. 


GEOLOGY   OF  THE   LEAD   REGION.  131 

The  only  other  exposures  of  the  Blue  limestone  in  Northwestern 
Illinois  are  along  Fever  river,  from  the  forks  of  that  stream  north- 
ward. At  Tuttle's  Mill  considerable  quarrying  has  been  done,  and 
this  is  the  only  point  where  a  good  section  could  be  obtained  of  this 
part  of  the  series.  The  following  measurements  were  made  here : 

Beds  of  limestone,  passing  into  dolomite,  in  rather  thin  layers,  with  shaly  partings — 
6  feet. 

Thin-bedded  limestone,  weathering  in  layers  about  two  or  three  inches  thick,  with  the 
usual  fossils  of  the  Blue  limestone— 8  feet. 

"Glass-rock,"  one  pretty  solid  layer — 17  inches. 

Blue  shaly  mass,  representing  the  "Pipe-clay  opening,"  but  not  showing  any  galena — 
6  inches.  . 

Gray  brittle  glass-rock,  dividing  into  irregular  layers  on  weathering— 2  feet,  6  inches. 

Gray  limestone,  breaking  with  aconchbidal  and  slightly  shalyfracture  when  weathered; 
a  few  fossils  between  the  layers— 3  feet,  2  inches. 

Layers  not  exposed  in  the  quarry,  but  cut  through  in  the  wheel  pits  of  the  mill— 4  feet. 

The  last  two  divisions  are  good  building  stone ;  the  others  are  too 
shaly  to  be  worth  quarrying. 

The  upper  fossiliferous  layers  of  the  Blue  limestone  are  also 
exposed  in  a  cut  on  the  railroad,  just  at  the  forks  of  Fever  river, 
and  have  about  the  same  character  as  at  Tuttle's  Mill.  Fine  speci- 
mens of  Asaphus  and  Ceraurus  have  been  collected  at  these  expo- 
sures. 

With  the  exception  of  those  above  cited,  there  appear  to  be  no 
localities  in  Northwestern  Illinois  exposing  any  rocks  lower  than  the 
Galena  limestone.  The  Menomonee  and  Sinsinnewa  rivers  do  not 
cut  down  through  this  formation,  and  in  going  east  and  north  from 
Galena  we  soon  rise  into  higher  groups. 

The  Blue  limestone  is  a  metalliferous  formation  in  some  parts  of 
the  lead  region,  as  at  Mineral  Point,  Linden  and  vicinity;  but  no 
workings  have  been  carried  as  low  as  this  in  Illinois  or  Iowa.  Farther 
on,  under  the  head  of  "Mining,"  some  remarks  will  be  made  on  the 
probability  of  successful  mining  below  the  Galena  limestone. 

We  come  next  to  the  formation  which  covers  the  larger  portion  of 
the  region  to  which  this  report  refers,  and  the  only  one  which  has, 
up  to  this  time,  been  found  to  contain  valuable  ores ;  it  is  the  group 
of  strata  to  which  the  name  of  Galena  Limestone  has  been  applied. 
The  term  "Upper  Magnesian"  is  that  by  which  the  rock  in  question 
is  most  generally  described  in  the  lead  region,  but  as  it  originated 
in  a  misapprehension  of  the  geological  structure  of  the  district,  and 
is  really  not  the  upper  Magnesian  limestone,  a  change  of  name  has 
been  deemed  advisable  in  order  to  avoid  confusion,  as  will  be  fully 
explained  under  the  head  of  the  Niagara  limestone,  further  on. 


132  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  Galena  limestonf,  as  usually  developed,  is  a  rather  thick-bedded, 
light  gray,  or  light  yellowish-gray  dolomite,  distinctly  crystalline  in 
its  texture,  and  usually  rather  granular,  although  occasionally  quite 
compact.  The  coarse-grained  portions  frequently  contain  small  cav- 
ities of  irregular  shape,  which  are  often  lined  with  minute  crystals 
of  brown  spar.  In  its  chemical  composition  this  rock  is  quite  homo- 
geneous; it  is  almost  a  pure  dolomite,  since  the  various  analyses 
which  have  been  made  show  it  to  contain  only  from  two  to  five  per 
cent,  of  substances  insoluble  in  acid  (clay  and  sand),  while  the 
remainder  is  a  mixture  of  the  carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia,  in 
the  proportion  necessary  to  form  dolomite,  (carbonate  of  lime,  54.35, 
and  carbonate  of  magnesia,  45.65  per  cent.)  with  one  or  two  per 
cent,  of  the  carbonate  of  the  protoxide  of  iron,  which  becomes  grad- 
ually peroxidized  on  exposure  to  the  air,  and  traces  of  the  alkalies, 
chlorine  and  sulphuric  acid.  The  grayish  tinge  which  it  has  in  the 
interior  of  the  thicker  layers,  passes  into  a  very  light  straw-yellow 
after  a  time,  in  consequence  of  the  oxidation  of  the  iron. 

The  unequal  mixture  of  the  crystalline  granular  and  the  more 
compact  portion  of  this  rock  causes  it  to  weather  very  unequally  in 
some  places,  so  as  to  give  to  its  outcrop  a  variety  of  picturesque 
forms.  As  the  streams  in  Northwestern  Illinois  and  the  adjacent 
territory  of  Iowa  have  cut  deeply  down  into  the  Galena  limestone, 
they  are  bordered  by  precipitous  bluffs  of  this  rock,  which  are  gen- 
erally crowned  by  perpendicular  ledges,  having  frequently  a  castel- 
lated appearance,  like  the  walls  of  some  half-ruined  city,  while 
isolated  masses  of  rock  sometimes  rise  abruptly  from  the  valleys, 
resembling  lofty  watch-towers.  Nowhere  is  this  disposition  of  the 
strata  better  seen  than  in  the  vicinity  of  Dubuque  and  Galena,  and 
the  latter  city  is  remarkable  for  its  picturesque  situation  between 
lofty  bluffs  of  the  Galena  limestone,  the  rock  having  received  this 
name  from  the  fact  of  its  being  so  well  exposed  at  the  city  of  that 
name,  as  well  as  for  its  being  the  principal  repository  of  the  ore  of 
lead,  called  "galena"  by  mineralogists. 

The  upper  layers  of  the  Galena  limestone  are  usually  more  regu- 
larly and  thinly  bedded  than  the  middle  and  lower,  and  hence  are 
chiefly  quarried  for  building  materials  when  a  choice  can  be  had. 
Near  Dubuque  the  upper  fifty  feet  are  in  layers  from  seven  to  eight 
inches  thick,  and  furnish  a  pretty  good  stone  for  most  purposes. 
At  the  very  summit  of  the  formation  the  rock  is  quite  shaly  and 
argillaceous,  indicating  a  passage  into  the  Cincinnati  group  above. 
These  thin  layers  are  called  "shingle  rock"  by  the  miners.  In  this 
portion  of  the  series  there  are  but  few  of  the  siliceous  nodules  or 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   EEGION.  133 

flints ;  hence  the  greater  value  of  the  upper  layers  for  building  pur- 
poses. The  middle  portion  of  the  Galena  limestone  is  usually  very 
heavy  bedded,  crystalline,  and  marked  by  an  abundance  of  flints, 
arranged  in  parallel  layers.  The  lower  portion  of  this  rock  is  more 
variable  in  its  lithological  character  than  either  the  middle  or  upper. 
It  is  sometimes  regularly  bedded;  in  other  places  it  is  intersected 
by  seams  and  flaws  of  crystallized  calcareous  spar,  and,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  mineral  openings,  contains  a  large  amount  of  flints. 

The  maximum  thickness  of  the  Galena  limestone,  where  none  of 
it  has  been  removed  by  denudition,  is  from  250  to  275  feet;  from 
150  to  200  is  usually  exposed  in  the  bluffs  about  Galena,  where  the 
river  cuts  down  almost  to  the  bottom  of  this  rock. 

As  the  sole  depository  of  the  ore  of  lead  in  Northwestern  Illinois, 
the  Galena  limestone  is  of  the  greatest  economical  importance,  and 
in  the  section  specially  devoted  to  the  mining  interests,  this  relation 
of  the  mineral  deposits  to  the  rock  will  be  discussed  in  full. 

As  a  fossiliferous  formation  the  Galena  limestone  offers  quite  a 
contrast  to  the  underlying  Blue  limestone.  All  the  shells  it  contains 
are  preserved  as  casts,  with  the  exception  of  those  which  consisted 
originally  of  phosphate  of  lime,  such  as  Lingula  quadrata,  which  is 
so  common  in  the  upper  beds  and  characteristic  of  this  rock.  There 
are  occasional  layers  which  are  quite  well  filled  with  casts  of  gas- 
teropods,  Murchisonia  being  by  far  the  most  abundant  genus,  and 
M.  major  the  most  marked  species.  The  Brachiopods,  with  the 
exception  of  Lingula,  are  more  sparsely  represented,  although  two  or 
three  species  of  Strophomena  are  not  unfrequent.  The  most  noticeable 
fossil,  however,  of  this  series,  is  the  Receptaculites,  generally  known 
at  the  West  as  Coscinopora,  popularly  called  "Sun-flower  Coral,"  or 
the  "lead  fossil,"  from  its  sun-flower-like  form  and  its  abundance  in 
the  lead  diggings.  Although  formerly  considered  a  coral,  this  curious 
fossil  has  been  referred  by  Dr.  OWEN,  in  his  last  report,  to  the 
Foraminifera,  and  more  recently  the  same  opinion  has  been  advanced 
by  Mr.  SALTEK.  Another  closely  allied  form  is  that  described  by 
Dr.  OWEN  as  Selenaides,  which  is  equally  characteristic  of  the  Galena 
limestone,  but  more  rare  than  the  Receptaculites.  '  Both  the  upper 
and  lower  portions  of  the  rock  show  immense  numbers  of  branching 
forms  in  which  few  traces  of  structure  can  be  detected,  but  which 
appear  beyond  a  doubt  to  be  the  remains  of  marine  plants  and 
sponges,  which  must  have  flourished  most  luxuriantly,  and  may 
have  furnished,  by  their  growth  and  decay,  a  large  part  of  the 
material  of  which  this  part  of  the  series  is  made  up.  The  paleon- 
tological  affinities  of  the  Blue  and  Galena  limestone  ally  these  groups 


134  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

of  strata  closely  to  the  Trenton  limestone,  and  with  each  other, 
although  they  are  so  different  in  their  lithological  characters.  A 
more  thorough  investigation  of  the  fossils  of  the  lower  Silurian  rocks 
of  the  Northwest  will  probably  form  one  of  the  objects  of  the  paleon- 
tological  portion  of  the  Eeport  on  the  Geology  of  Wisconsin. 

Next  above  the  Galena  limestone  we  find  the  Cincinnati  Group, 
formerly  referred  to  the  position  of  the  rocks  called  "Hudson  Kiver 
Group,"  in  the  New  York  Geological  Reports.*  This  group  of  strata 
is  composed  chiefly  of  argillaceous  and  silico-argillaceous  shales, 
with  a  small  and  varying  amount  of  calcareous  and  magnesian  car- 
bonates intermixed.  This  is  the  first  set  of  beds  deposited  in  this 
region  which  consisted  chiefly  of  detrital  materials — 'that  is  to  say, 
such  as  originated  from  the  wearing  away  and  disintegration  of  pre- 
;viously  existing  strata,  and  which  were  brought  from  a  distance  in 
the  form  of  a  fine  mud,  and  quietly  deposited  at  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean. 

The  predominating  color  of  this  portion  of  the  series  is  a  light- 
blue,  weathering,  on  exposure,  to  a  light  ash-gray;  hence  the  name 
of  Blue  shale,  given  to  it  by  Dr.  PERCIVAL,  in  his  Wisconsin  Reports. 
Intercalated  with  the  shales  are  occasional  bands  of  argillaceous 
magnesian  limestone,  and  the  upper  portion  of  the  series  becomes 
more  and  more  calcareo-magnesian,  passing  gradually  into  a  regular 
dolomite. 

Owing  to  the  rapidity  with  which  these  shaly  beds  disintegrate 
on  exposure,  it  was  a  long  time  before  their  existence  and  position 
in  the  lead  region  was  fully  understood,  since  natural  sections 
exhibiting  these  rocks  are  -extraordinarily  rare.  When  the  miners 
in  Iowa  and  Wisconsin  had  to  sink  through  a  few  feet  of  these 
shales  overlying  the  lead  bearing  rock,  as  was  frequently  the  case 
near  Fairplay  and  Dubuque,  the  fragments  of  that  rock  thrown  out 
would,  of  course,  soon  be  covered  up,  as  the  working  descended  into 
the  underlying  Galena  limestone,  so  that  their  presence  would  very 
naturally  escape  the  notice  of  the  casual  visitor,  unless  he  happened 
to  be  present  at  the  first  opening  of  a  shaft.  Hence  it  was  for  a 
long  time  supposed  that  the  Niagara  limestone,  which  forms  the 
tops  of  the  mounds,  and  the  Galena  limestone,  or  the  lead  bearing 
rock,  were  not  separated  by  any  intervening  strata  of  a  different 
lithological  character,  although  known  to  be  paleontologically  quite 
distinct.  In  all  Northwestern  Illinois  not  a  single  foot  of  these 

*Now  known  to  occupy  a  very  different  horizon  at  the  typical  localities  on  the  Hudson 
river,  New  York.  A.  H.  W. 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  LEAD  REGION.  135 

shales  has  been  found  exposed  in  any  natural  section,  although  one 
good  section  has  been  found  on  the  Iowa  side,  where  twenty-five 
feet  may  be  seen.  The  cuttings  of  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad, 
however,  between  Scales'  Mound  and  Apple  Eiver  stations,  supplied 
this  deficiency,  in  a  measure,  and  have  given  us  a  good  idea  of  at 
least  the  lower  portion  of  the  series. 

The  section  a  little  west  of  the  station  at  Scales'  Mound,  as  meas- 
ured by  Prof.  HALL  and  myself,  in  1855,  was  as  follows : 

Alternating  bands  of  impure  argillaceous  and  siliceous  shales,  with  calcareous  layers 
of  a  few  inches  in  thickness— 8  feet. 

Bluish- gray  siliceous  and  silico-calcareous  shales— 11  feet,  6  inches. 

Limestone,  magnesian,  somewhat  argillaceous,  and  containing  a  little  carbonaceous 
matter— 3  inches. 

Shales,  similar  to  those  above— 12  feet. 

Calcareo- magnesian  band— 2  inches. 

tShales,  as  above— 6  feet. 

Layer  filled  with  minute  fossils,  of  which  Tellinoinya  (Nucula)  is  the  most  abundant, 

hence  thest  atum  has  been  called  by  Mr.  DANIELS,  in  his  Eeport  to  the  State  of  Wisconsin, 

he  "Nucula  bed,"  and  the  whole  series  the  "Nucula  shales;"  at  the  bottom  is  a  thin  layer 

ontaining  two  species  of  Lingula—G  to  12  inches. 

Dark  olive  shales,  finely  laminated  and  destitute  of  fossils— 3  feet. 

Nucula  bed,  similar  to  the  one  above— 4  to  6  inches. 

Whole  thickness  exposed,  belonging  to  the  Cincinnati  group,  about  42  feet. 

In  the  western  end  of  the  cut,  the  upper  beds  of  the  Galena  lime- 
stone are  well  exposed.  They  are  made  up  of  alternating  beds  of 
dolomite  and  yellow  shaly  layers,  which,  however,  are  also  chiefly 
dolomitic  in  composition,  with  a  little  more  clay  than  the  harder 
beds.  The  shaly  portions  are  a  few  inches  in  thickness,  and  con- 
tain a  considerable  number  of  fossils,  among  which  Murchisonia  bel- 
icincta  and  Pleurotomaria  lenticularis  were  recognized.  Above  these 
alternations  of  dolomite  and  shales  we  find  about  ten  feet  of  a 
rather  compact  bluish  dolomite,  with  numerous  geodes,  usually  of 
from  two  to  three  inches  in  diameter,  the  sides  of  which  are  lined 
with  very  pretty  crystallizations  of  pyrites,  heavy  spar  and  bitter 
spar,  forming  quite  handsome  cabinet  specimens.  This  geode  bed 
has  an  irregular  surface,  on  which  is  deposited  the  lower  Nucula 
bed.  This  fossiliferous  layer,  which  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  Cincin- 
nati group,  is  from  four  to  six  inches  in  thickness.  It  is  strongly 
impregnated  with  iron  pyrites,  which  soon  decomposes,  on  exposure 
to  the  air,  so  that  the  blocks  which  were  quarried  at  the  time  the 
railroad  was  constructed  are  now  entirely  disintegrated.  This  stratum 
is  almost  entirely  made  up  of  fragments  of  fossils,  chiefly  Tellinomya 
(Nucula),  small  Orthoceratites,  Pleurotomaria,  Murchisonia,  etc.,  together 
with  a  great  number  of  small  pehble-like  concretions  of  a  dark  slaty 
material,  and  nodules  of  pyrites.  The  upper  Nucula  bed  is  similar 


136  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

in  character  to  the  lower  one,  being  equally  crowded  with  fossils, 
although  not  quite  as  pyritiferous. 

Three  miles  east  of  Scales'  Mound  station,  on  the  railroad,  is 
another  deep  cut  through  these  rocks,  exposing  twenty-five  or  thirty 
feet  of  shales;  and  about  a  mile  farther  on  still  another,  in  which 
nearly  fifty  feet  are  displayed.  The  details  have  not  been  measured. 
The  road  runs  along  between  Scales'  Mound  and  Apple  river  all  the 
way  nearly  on  the  top  of  the  Galena  limestone,  and  the  cuts  expose 
the  lower  beds  of  the  shales ;  but  we  have  failed  to  discover  any 
section,  natural  or  artificial,  which  exhibits  the  passage  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati group  into  the  Niagara  above.  The  whole  thickness  of  rock 
intermediate  between  the  Galena  and  the  Niagara  limestone  is,  of 
course,  preserved  under  the  mounds,  but  not  a  foot  of  this  portion 
of  the  series  is  exposed  about  any  of  them,  except  when  wells  are 
dug  or  other  artificial  excavations  made. 

The  very  interesting  section  of  the  Cincinnati  group  near  Chan- 
ningsville,  Iowa,  on  the  Little  Makoqueta  river,  first  pointed 
out  by  C.  CHILDS,  Esq.,  of  Dubuque,  exhibits  about  twenty-five  feet 
of  alternating  beds  of  soft  shales  and  layers,  crowded  with  Orthocer- 
atites,  as  well  as  Tellinomya  (Nucula).  Layers  made  up  exclusively 
of  Orthoceratites,  packed  as  closely  as  possible,  are  seen  on  the  small 
streams  a  few  miles  west  of  Dubuque,  but  in  no  two  localities  has 
precisely  the  same  sequence  of  beds  been  remarked. 

The  whole  thickness  of  the  Cincinnati  group  in  Northwestern  Illi- 
nois is  probably  nowhere  less  than  sixty  feet,  and  may  be  in  some 
cases  as  much  as  one  hundred.  As  its  junction  with  the  Niagara 
limestone  above  has  never  been  seen,  the  thickness  of  the  series  can 
only  be  approximately  arrived  at  by  measuring  the  gentle  slope 
which  it  gives  rise  to  at  the  base  of  all  the  mounds. 

An  interesting  fact  in  connection  with  this  rock,  and  one  which 
contrasts  it  strongly  with  all  the  other  members  of  the  geological 
series  in  this  region,  is  the  large  quantity  of  bituminous  matter 
which  it  contains,  but  not  uniformly  distributed  through  it,  since 
some  portions  of  the  series  are  much  richer  than  others,  and  the 
amount  of  carbon  present  varies  greatly  at  different  localities.  A 
specimen  from  Savanna,  Illinois,  examined  by  Messrs.  CHANDLER 
and  KIMBALL,  was  found  to  have  the  following  composition : 

Insoluble  in  Chlorohydric  Acid: 

Clay  and  sand 73.57 

Carbon 15.03 

Hydrogen  1 . 65 

Oxygen...  5.39 

22.07 


GEOLOGY   OF  THE   LEAD   REGION.  137 

Soluble  in  Acid: 

Carbon  of  lime 1.29 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 76 

Alumina  and  protoxide  of  iron 2.79 

100.48 

Other  specimens  of  shale  from  various  other  localities  were  found 
to  contain  from  five  to  fifteen  per  cent,  of  organic  matter,  and  the 
larger  portion  of  those  examined  take  fire  and  burn  with  a  brilliant 
flame  when  heated  in  the  crucible. 

The  shales  of  the  Cincinnati  group  in  the  lead  region  are  entirely 
destitute  of  any  accidental  minerals  so  far  as  known;  no  instances 
have  ever  been  observed  of  the  lead-bearing  crevices  extending  up 
into  this  rock,  and  the  causes  which  produced  the  deposition  of  the 
ores  so  abundant  in  the  group  immediately  below  must  have  ceased 
to  operate  before  the  shales  were  formed. 

The  paleontological  affinities  of  this  group  of  strata  are  with  the 
rocks  occupying  the  same  position  in  New  York,  but  how  far  the 
species  are  identical,  remains  to  be  investigated.  The  lithological 
characters  and  the  minute  details  of  organic  forms  are  subject  to 
many  changes  over  so  extensive  an  area  as  that  embraced  between 
the  east  and  the  west ;  but  the  general  order  of  sequence  remains 
the  same,  and  the  principal  groups  are  traced  in  an  unbroken  series 
from  New  York  into  Canada,  and  thence  along  the  shores  of  Lakes 
Huron,  Superior  and  Michigan  into  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
presenting  one  of  the  finest  fields  for  the  study  of  the  Silurian 
groups  which  the  world  affords  to  the  geologist.  There  is  a  rich 
material  here  for  years  of  elaborate  investigation. 

Above  the  Cincinnati  group  we  find  next  in  order,  everywhere  in 
the  lead  region  and  its  vicinity,  a  heavy  mass  of  dolomite,  the 
third  in  order,  which,  from  its  thickness  and  persistency  of  litho- 
logical and  paleontological  characters  over  a  wide  area  in  the 
Northwest,  deserves  especial  notice.  It  is  the  rock  to  which,  prior 
to  the  recognition  of  the  Cincinnati  group  in  this  region,  the  name 
of  "Coralline  and  Pentamerus  beds  of  the  Upper  Magnesian"  was 
given.  As  the  general  appearance  and  chemical  composition  of  the 
rock  forming  this  series  of  beds  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  the 
Galena  limestone,  and  as  the  group  of  strata  separating  them 
in  so  marked  a  manner  was  not  noticed,  it  was  natural  that  the 
whole  series  from  the  bottom  of  the  Galena  limestone  to  the  top  of 
the  rocks  in  question,  should  be  grouped  together;  and  the  name 
of  "Cliff  limestone"  was  that  first  given,  in  reference  to  the  peculiar 
denudation  which  has  taken  place  in  the  district  occupied  by  these 


138  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

rocks,  which  exposes  them  in  abrupt  and  picturesque  bluffs  or  cliffs 
along  the  principal  streams.  In  the  same  way  the  term  "Upper 
Magnesian"  was  applied,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Lower  Magne- 
sian,  and  these  terms  are  still  in  general  use  among  the  miners, 
the  former  being,  however,  limited  to  the  lead- bearing  beds.  As  the 
palaeontological  differences  between  the  Galena  limestone  and  the 
upper  beds  of  the  "Cliff  limestone"  were  too  evident  to  escape 
recognition,  the  former  rock  was  called  the  "lead-bearing  beds,"  and 
the  other  the  "Coralline  and  Pantamerus  beds"  of  the  Upper  Mag- 
nesian. Dr.  PERCIVAL,  in  his  reports,  to  escape  confusion,  has 
retained  the  term  Upper  Magnesian  for  the  lead-bearing  dolomite 
beds,  and  has  applied  that  of  "Mound  Limestone"  to  the  rock  above 
the  Cincinnati  group,  since  it  is  found  everywhere  in  the  lead  region 
capping  the  mounds.  As,  however,  the  rock  in  question  is  contin- 
uous with  that  described  by  the  geologists  of  the  New  York  Survey 
as  the  Niagara  limestone,  and  as  a  large  number  of  identical  and 
closely  allied  fossils  occur  through  the  whole  range  of  the  formation 
from  New  York  to  the  Mississippi,  it  is  in  every  respect  proper  to 
apply  the  same  name  to  the  same  rock  in  its  eastern  and  western 
extension,  and  hence  we  shall  follow  Prof.  HALL  in  calling  it  the 
Niagara  limestone. 

Although  occupying  but  a  very  small  area  in  the  lead  region 
proper,  this  formation  is  one  which  covers  a  vast  area  in  the  North- 
west. It  is  largely  developed  in  Eastern  Wisconsin,  forming  a  belt 
from  thirty  to  fifty  miles  wide  along  the  west  shore  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, and  extending  down  into  Northern  Illinois,  where  it  covers  an 
extensive  area.  It  stretches  across  the  Mississippi  into  Iowa,  and 
trending  to  the  northwest  passes  into  Minnesota,  where  it  has  not 
yet  been  traced  out  with  accuracy;  but  it  probably  covers  an  im- 
mense expanse  in  the  far  Northwest,  and  is  the  most  important 
group  developed  in  that  far-off  region. 

In  its  lithological  character  the  Niagara  limestone,  as  developed 
in  the  Mississippi  valley,  is  quite  homogeneous ;  indeed,  there  is 
little  difference  in  its  chemical  composition  from  the  bottom  to  the 
top  of  the  series  anywhere  between  the  St.  Mary's  river  and  Min- 
nesota. It  is  essentially  a  pure  dolomite,  generally  containing  the 
carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia  in  almost  exactly  the  proportion 
required  by  one  atom  of  each,  although  occasionally  showing  a  small 
excess  of  lime.  The  amount  of  insoluble  clay  and  sand  which  it 
contains  is  generally  very  small ;  it  is  sometimes  less  than  one  per 
cent.,  and  rarely  exceeds  three  or  four. 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  LEAD  EEGION.  139 

As  developed  in  the  vicinity  of  the  lead  region  this  rock  is  of  a 
light  yellowish-gray  color,  varying  in  shade  somewhat,  according  as 
it  has  been  more  or  less  exposed  to  the  atmosphere,  and  the  amount 
of  iron  which  it  contains,  which,  however,  is  quite  small,  even  in 
the  most  ferruginous  varieties.  Its  texture  is  more  uniform  and 
less  crystalline  than  either  the  Lower  Magnesian  or  the  Galena 
limestones,  and  it  is  more  regularly  and  thinly  bedded.  Still,  in 
hand  specimens  it  would  be  impossible  to  distinguish  these  three 
great  dolomitic  rocks  from  each  other.  The  Niagara  limestone, 
being  of  a  more  uniform  texture,  does  not  weather  so  unequally,  or 
form  such  fantastic  and  picturesque  ridges  and  outliers,  when  deeply 
cut  into  by  streams.  Like  the  other  Magnesian  rocks  in  the  lead 
region,  it  is  abundantly  supplied,  especially  in  its  middle  and  lower 
portion,  with  siliceous  nodules  or  flints,  which  are  usually  arranged 
in  layers  parallel  with  the  stratification.  These  flinty  beds  are  par- 
ticularly abundant  in  the  middle  portion  of  the  series ;  where  they 
are  absent  the  rock  is  well  adapted  for  building  purposes,  as  it 
splits  and  dresses  well,  and  is  of  a  fine  color,  as  well  as  very  dur- 
able ;  it  is  extensively  quarried  on  the  mounds,  especially  on  Wad- 
dell's,  near  Galena,  although  not  free  from  flints  in  the  beds  exposed 
here.  This  tendency  to  silicification  exhibits  itself  through  the 
whole  of  the  series,  in  the  fact  that  the  numerous  corals  which  it 
contains  have  all  been  converted  into  silica.  In  the  West  Blue 
Mound  a  thickness  of  over  150  feet  has  been  entirely  converted  into 
flint  of  a  brownish-red  color  from  stains  of  iron.  The  exceeding 
hardness  and  durability  of  this  material  seems  to  have  been  the 
principal  cause  why  this  outlier  of  the  Niagara  has  been  left  so  far 
to  the  north,  while  such  extensive  denudation  has  gone  on  all  around, 
leaving  it  elevated  nearly  five  hundred  feet  above  the  general  level 
of  the  surrounding  country. 

The  whole  thickness  of  the  Niagara  limestone  in  the  Mississippi 
valley  I  am  unable  to  give,  as  it  is  nowhere  left  entire  in  the  lead 
region,  or  exposed  in  its  vicinity,  in  its  whole  thickness,  so  as  to 
be  capable  of  being  measured.  In  Iowa  the  greatest  thickness 
observed  in  one  section  was  about  250  feet,  and  probably  350  feet 
may  be  taken  as  an  approximation.  On  the  mounds  there  is  usually 
about  150  feet  of  the  rock  remaining,  but  as  its  junction  with  the 
shale  below  is  never  exposed,  it  is  difficult  to  give  any  exact  figures. 
On  the  West  Blue  Mound  the  thickness  of  the  Niagara  limestone 
appears  to  be  nearly  200  feet.  On  the  Sinsinnewa  there  is  a  little 
over  1'25  feet  of  this  rock. 


40  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  outcrop  of  the  Niagara  limestone  in  and  around  the  lead 
region  forms  the  most  marked  feature  in  its  topography,  as  already 
remarked ;  and  taken  in  connection  with  the  curious  outliers  of  this 
rock,  known  as  the  Mounds,  shows  what  an  extensive  denudation 
has  been  going  on  over  this  part  of  the  country. 

Coming  into  the  lead  region  from  the  east  or  north,  we  find  the 
first  evidence  of  the  existence  of  the  Niagara  limestone  in  the  two 
Blue  Mounds,  the  west  one  of  which  is  elevated  48o  feet  above  the 
village  of  Pokerville,  at  its  base,  and  1151  feet,  nearly,  above  Lake 
Michigan,  being  the  highest  ground  in  Southern  Wisconsin.  It  is 
about  30  miles,  in  a  southwest  direction,  before  we  come  to  the  next 
outliers  of  the  Niagara — the  Platte  Mounds,  as  they  are  called — 
three  isolated  eminences,  two  of  which  are  about  150  feet  above 
their  bases  and  700  feet  above  Lake  Michigan.  Sinsinnewa  Mound, 
in  the  southwest  corner  of  Wisconsin,  is  the  only  other  isolated  knob 
of  the  Niagara  in  that  State.  It  is  591  feet  above  the  lake,  and  not 
far  from  200  feet  above  the  general  level  of  the  region  at  its  base. 
Crossing  the  Mississippi  into  Iowa,  we  find  a  single  outlier  of  this 
rock  a  few  miles  in  advance  of  the  main  line  of  outcrop,  and  called 
Sherald's  Mound.  The  Galena  limestone  rises  above  the  river,  as 
we  ascend  the  Mississippi,  near  Bellevue,  and  forms  bluffs  directly 
on  the  river,  which  rapidly  increase  in  height,  attaining  their  max- 
imum at  Dubuque,  where  the  whole  thickness  of  the  rock  is  exposed, 
about  250  feet.  Above  the  bluffs  of  the  Galena  limestone  is  a 
gently  sloping  plain,  extending  back  from  the  river  for  a  short 
distance  and  underlaid  by  the  Cincinnati  group.  Eising  above  this, 
in  a  steep  and  frequently  precipitous  escarpment,  is  the.  outcrop  of 
the  Niagara,  which,  with  many  irregularities  and  deeply  cut  into  by 
the  streams  coming  into  the  Mississippi,  extends  along  close  to  that 
river  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Caifish.  From  this  point,  owing 
to  the  bend  of  the  river,  the  line  of  the  bluffs  marking  this  rock  is 
thrown  back  from  six  to  eight  miles  into  the  interior,  but  gradually 
approaches  the  river  again  near  the  Buena  Vista;  then  bends  round 
and  keeps  to  the  south  of  Turkey  river,  and  stretches  itself  towards 
the  far  Northwest.  This  outcrop  is  everywhere  a  marked  feature  in 
the  topography  of  the  district,  as  it  causes  a  sudden,  almost  pre- 
cipitous rise  of  from  250  to  300  feet,  with  the  gentle  slope  of  the 
Cincinnati  group  at  its  base,  and  with  its  irregularities  of  outline 
caused  by  unequal  denudation.  Beyond  this  to  the  northwest  there 
is  little  to  break  the  monotony  of  the  surface,  and  the  lines  of 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   REGION.  141 

junction  of  the  different  geological  groups,  instead  of  being  thus 
boldly  marked,  are  very  obscure,  and  only  to  be  approximately 
made  out. 

The  principal  body  of  the  rock  lies  between  Small  Pox  creek  and 
Apple  river,  although  deeply  cut  into  by  the  streams  which  run 
across  this  part  of  the  district  to  the  south  southeast.  The  surface 
covered  by  this  rock  is  quite  broken,  intersected  by  numerous 
ravines,  and  is  pretty  well  timbered  with  a  variety  of  oaks  and 
other  forest  trees.  It  is,  as  yet,  but  sparsely  settled.  In  the  valleys 
of  Apple  river  and  Hush  creek,  and  in  all  the  region  drained  by 
their  head  waters,  the  larger  part  of  the  surface  is  covered  by  the 
Galena  limestone,  while  occasional  mounds  capped  with  the  Niagara 
diversify  the  surface,  and  the  higher  grounds  between  the  streams 
have  some  remains  of  the  Cincinnati  group  upon  them,  the  exact 
extent  of  which  can  only  be  conjectured,  as  this  rock  is  never 
exposed  except  in  artificial  excavations.  The  main  body  of  the 
Niagara  lies  to  the  south  of  Eush  and  Yellow  creeks. 

The  most  northeasterly  outcrop  of  the  Niagara  in  this  region  is 
at  Waddam's  Grove,  between  Nora  and  Lena  stations,  on  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad.  The  larger  part  of  the  upper  strata  on  the 
elevated  ground  at  the  Grove,  which  forms  a  low,  flat,  but  narrow 
ridge,  extending  along  for  two  miles  in  a  northwest  and  southeast 
direction,  belong  to  the  upper  portion  of  the  Cincinnati  group, 
namely :  the  yellow  argillaceous  dolomite,  which  is  characterized  by 
an  abundance  of  Chcetetes  petropolitanus ;  also,  Orthis  occidentalis  and 
Asaphus  canalis,  (Isotelus  gigas.}  The  Chaetetes  occur  in  hemispher- 
ical flattened,  discoidal  and  branching  forms,  and  are  very  numer- 
ous. Below  these  yellow  argillaceous  dolomitic  strata  the  blue 
shales  have  been  sunk  into  in  several  places,  in  digging  wells,  so 
that  the  relation  of  the  two  can  be  made  out,  although  the  whole 
thickness  of  the  formation  was  not  ascertained.  There  are  two 
points  on  the  mound  a  little  higher  than  the  rest  of  the  ridge, 
where  the  beds  of  passage  into  the  Niagara  are  seen  in  place  in 
the  form  of  heavy-bedded  yellow  dolomitic  strata,  with  shaly  partings 
without  fossils.  The  northwestern  summit  is  the  higher  of  the  two, 
and  about  this  are  seen  several  large  fragments  of  characteristic 
cherty  Niagara  dolomite,  containing  large  masses  of  flints.  The 
flints  are  also  seen  scattered  over  the  surface  on  both  the  higher 
points,  of  the  ridge. 

Proceeding  southwest  from  Waddam's  Grove,  we  find  indications 
of  a  low  axis  of  upheaval,  or  an  undulation  of  the  strata,  trending 
southeast  and  northwest,  in  a  line  of  elevated  ground  running  from 


142  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  head  waters  of  yellow  river  towards  Scales'  Mound.  The  most 
southeasterly  of  these  elevations  is  Simmons'  Mound,  which  is  a 
little  south  of  the  corner  of  townships  twenty- seven  and  twenty-eight, 
ranges  four  and  five  east.  This  is  a  narrow  ridge,  running  east  and 
west,  and  capped  by  about  fifty  feet  of  the  Niagara  limestone,  in 
which  a  vain  search  has  been  made  for  lead. 

About  one  mile  and  a  half  to  the  northwest  of  Simmons'  is  Bice's, 
and  still  further,  Benton's  Mound,  where  there  is  a  thickness  of 
perhaps  126  feet  of  the  Niagara.  There  are  some  cave-like  openings 
of  small  dimensions  on  this  mound,  which  have  been  fruitlessly 
explored  for  ore.  The  rock,  at  the  summit,  is  a  yellowish-gray  crys- 
talline dolomite. 

Power's  Mound  is  on  the  line  between  sections  five  and  six, 
township  twenty-eight,  range  four  east.  It  was  not  particularly 
examined. 

Paige's  Mound  is  chiefly  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  thirty- 
six,  township  twenty-nine  north,  range  four  east.  There  is  a  lime 
kiln  and  quarry  near  the  summit,  where  the  upper  trilobitiferous 
layers  of  the  Cincinnati  group  are  exposed.  Specimens  obtained  here 
of  an  argillaceous  dolomite  and  are  filled  with  fragments  of  Asaphus. 
The  blue  shales  are  not  exposed,  but  were  said  to  have  been  struck 
in  a  well  near  the  base  of  the  mound. 

Bean's  Mound,  near  Apple  river,  about  one  mile  southeast  of  the 
railroad  station,  exhibits  the  lower  beds  of  the  Niagara. 

Wood's  Mound,  on  the  line  between  sections  thirty-four  and  thirty- 
five,  township  twenty-nine,  range  three  east,  is  a  small  circular  out- 
lier, capped  by  the  Niagara. 

Hudson's  Mound  is  on  section  twenty-eight  of  the  same  town. 

To  the  north  of  Scales'  Mound  station,  and  near  the  State  line, 
is  Charles'  Mound,  a  long,  narrow  ridge,  running  east  and  west,  and 
capped  with  a  considerable  thickness  of  the  Niagara.  Handsome 
specimens  of  Heliolites  were  obtained  here  in  a  grayish  thin-bedded 
dolomite.  This  mound  is  supposed  to  be  the  highest  point  in  the 
State  of  Illinois.  By  my  barometrical  measurement,  it  was  found 
to  be  295  feet  above  the  railroad  track  at  the  station,  which  is  656 
feet  above  low-water  mark  in  the  Ohio  river,  at  Cairo,  which  is  given 
as  275  feet  above  high  tide  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  This  would  make 
the  elevation  of  Charles'  Mound  1,226  feet  above  tide-water. 

Scales'  Mound,  which  also  exposes  a  thickness  of  over  100  feet  of  the 
Niagara,  in  the  form  of  a  thin-bedded  gray  dolomite,  is  211  feet 
above  the  railroad  track,  and  consequently  1,142  feet  above  tide- 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE    LEAD   KEGION.  143 

/ 

water.  The  summit  level  of  the  road  between  Apple  river  and  Scales' 
Mound  is  805  feet  above  the  Ohio  river,  at  Cairo,  and  1,080  above 
the  sea  level. 

Passing  from  Scales'  Mound  toward  Galena,  the  main  outcrop  of 
the  Niagara  keeps  to  the  south  of  Small-Pox  creek,  forming  a  pre- 
cipitous bluff  of  from  150  to  250  feet  in  height,  but  exceedingly 
broken  and  irregular  in  its  outline.  Where  intersected  by  streams, 
it  is  deeply  cut  into  and  left  in  the  forks  between  them  in  narrow, 
rocky  ridges,  affording  many  picturesque  landscapes  when  combined 
with  the  undulating  and  richly  fertile  slope  of  the  Cincinnati  group 
below.  The  outliers  of  the  Niagara  assume  a  great  variety  of  forms, 
but  are  always  graceful  in  their  outlines,  and  as  they  are  usually 
crowned  with  fine  forest  trees,  they  contrast  most  charmingly  with 
the  rocky  bluffs'  of  the  Galena  limestone. 

There  is  a  broken  ridge  with  occasional  mounds,  running  along 
parallel  with  the  Small  Pox  creek,  and  from  one  to  two  miles  to  the 
northwest  of  it.  These  mounds  are  very  conspicuous  objects  as  seen 
from  the  city  of  Galena.  Waddell's  Mound  is  a  semi-circular  ridge, 
with  the  concave  side  turned  towards  the  city;  it  is  chiefly  on 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  twenty-two,  about  a  mile  east 
of  Galena,  and  is  capped  by  over  a  hundred  feet  in  thickness  of  the 
Niagara  limestone,  in  which  a  few  corals  are  found,  of  which  Holy- 
sites  catenulatus  is  the  most  striking.  A  small  brachiopod,  resemb- 
ling Leptoccelia  planoconvexa,  was  found  here;  also  a  number  of 
fragments  of  crinoids  in  a  very  imperfect  condition.  The  elevation 
of  Waddell's  Mound  was  found  to  be  484  feet  above  Fever  river  at 
its  usual  summer  stage  of  water,  and  four  feet  higher  than  the 
lowest  water-mark,  as  was  said. 

Pilot  Knob  is  another  conspicuous  land-mark  in  this  vicinity, 
and  is  an  object  familiar  to  those  navigating  the  river  as  a 
guide  to  the  mouth  of  Fever  river;  it  is  a  conical  eminence, 
quite  conspicuous  from  its  isolated  condition  near  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  affording  from  its  summit  a  most  beautiful  and  exten- 
sive view  of  the  Mississippi  river  from  Dubuque  to  Bellevue* 
with  the  region  to  the  north  and  northeast  as  far  as  the  Platte 
and  Blue  Mounds.  The  Pilot  Knob  was  found  to  be  429  feet  above 
Fever  river,  by  barometrical  measurements.  Although  the  Niagara 
limestone  has  been  repeatedly  explored  and  dug  into  for  lead  ore, 
an  instance  has  never  come  under  my  observation  where  any  has 
been  found;  and  I  have  no  authentic  accounts  of  any  such  occur- 
rence in  this  rock.  Although  this  dolomite  is  so  closely  allied  in 
its  lithological  character  to  the  proper  lead-bearing  rock,  yet  it  is 


144  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

entirely  destitute  of  the  useful  ores  which  that  contains.  Further 
west  in  Iowa,  on  the  Makoqueta  river,  the  occurrence  of  numerous 
nodules  of  brown  iron  ore,  altered  from  pyrites,  has  given  rise  to 
the  idea  that  the  Niagara  limestone  might  contain  workable  beds  of 
that  ore;  but  nothing  has  been  discovered  as  yet  to  justify  that 
opinion. 

As  a  quarry  rock,  this  dolomitic  mass  is  of.  considerable  value, 
especially  when  not  injured  by  the  presence  of  flinty  nodules.  It  is 
also  extensively  burned  for  lime,  at  localities  where  fuel  is  abund- 
ant, as  is  almost  always  the  case  on  and  around  the  mounds. 

We  have  thus  passed  in  review  all  the  groups  of  strata  which  are 
found  in  the  lead  region  of  Illinois  and  its  vicinity.  There  is  no 
rock  higher  in  the  series  than  the  Niagara  limestone,  coming  to  the 
surface  on  the  Mississippi  river,  until  we  reach  the  vicinity  of  the 
Upper  Rapids,  where  Devonian  rocks  make  their  appearance. 

The  general  dip  of  the  rocks  in  this  region  is  to  the  southwest, 
but  there  are  many  undulations  and  irregularities.  From  Galena  to 
Scales'  Mound  there  is  a  rapid  rise  of  the  strata,  which  continues 
on  to  Apple  river,  where  the  top  of  the  Galena  limestone  is  from 
200  to  250  feet  higher  than  it  is  at  Galena.  These  flexures  of  the 
formations  do  not  appear  to  have  been  accompanied  by  faults  or 
actual  ruptures  of  the  strata;  at  least  no  evidence  of  anything  of 
the  kind  has  been  detected. 

Mode  of  Occurrence  of  the  Lead  Ore. 

By  the  "mode  of  occurrence"  is^meant  the  peculiarities  of  form 
and  arrangement  of  any  deposit  of  ore,  and  its  relations  to  the  rocks 
in  which  it  is  embedded  or  inclosed ;  in  short,  it  should  comprehend 
all  that  is  required  to  be  known  in  order  to  enable  one  to  form  a 
correct  idea  of  the  probable  extent  and  value  and  the  best  method 
of  working  the  deposits  in  question.  We  propose,  then,  to  set  forth 
briefly  in  this  section  the  most  important  facts  in  regard  to  the 
occurrence  of  the  ores  of  lead  in  Northwestern  Illinois,  referring  at 
the  same  time,  for  fuller  information  in  regard  to  the  whole  lead 
region,  to  a  more  voluminous  report  furnished  to  the  State  of  Wis- 
consin in  1860,  and  published  in  1862. 

The  only  metal  which  has  yet  been  the  object  of  mining  enterprise, 
in  the  mineral  region  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  is  Lead.  Considerable 
quantities  of  Zinc  ore  do  indeed  occur  in  some  parts  of  that  district, 
but  they  have  never  been  raised,  except  accidentally  in  mining  for 
Lead ;  and  it  is  only  within  the  last  year  or  two  that  any  portion  of 
the  large  amount  of  Zinc  ore  accumulated  on  the  surface  has  been 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   REGION.  145 

attempted  to  be  utilized.  Zinc  smelting  works  have  been  erected  at 
LaSalle,  and  Mineral  Point,  Wisconsin,  and  .some  of  the  metal 
actually  smelted  at  the  latter  place,  although  the  operation  has  not 
been,  on  the  whole,  a  successful  one,  and  is  now  for  a  time  sus- 
pended. In  regard  to  the  LaSalle  works,  I  have  not  been  informed 
whether  the  furnaces  have  ever  been  completed,  and  the  manufacture 
of  the  metal  actually  commenced.*  In  the  Wisconsin  Keport  above 
mentioned,  I  have  given  the  reasons  somewhat  at  length  why  I 
believed  the  smelting  of  the  zinc  ores  could  not  be  carried  on  pro- 
fitably, at  present,  in  the  lead  region,  and  I  need  here  only  repeat 
that,  although  zinc  can  be  made  at  the  West,  yet  the  facilities  are 
not  sufficient  in  the  way  of  the  cost  of  the  ore  and  fuel,  abundance 
of  capital  and  nearness  to  a  market,  to  enable  the  work  to  be  car- 
ried on  profitably  in  competition  with  the  establishments  of  Belgium 
and  Silesia,  or  even  with  those  of  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania.  The 
ores  of  zinc  are  very  abundantly  distributed  over  the  world,  but  it 
is  only  under  very  favorable  circumstances  that  they  can  be  smelted 
with  profit ;  and  a  few  regions,  where  abundance  of  the  ore,  of  coal  and 
other  advantages  are  combined,  have  a  monopoly  of  the  business. 

But  as  the  quantity  of  zinc  ore  associated  with  that  of  lead  in 
the  Illinois  portion  of  the  lead  region  is  comparatively  trifling,  the 
matter  is  of  very  little  importance  to  this  State,  except  as  affording 
a  market  for  our  coal.  The  occurrence  of  zinc  ores  in  the  lead 
region  in  considerable  quantity  is  almost  exclusively  confined  to 
deposits  in  the  lower  beds  of  the  Galena  limestone,  and  especially 
in  the  Blue,  at  a  lower  horizon,  geologically,  than  has  been  worked, 
or  than  is  believed  to  be  workable,  in  Northwestern  Illinois.  There 
is,  therefore,  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  metal  will  ever  become 
of  importance  in  that  section,  and  our  inquiries  need  not  be  farther 
directed  to  its  occurrence,  except  as  incidentally  in  connection  with 
that  of  the  lead. 

The  only  ore  of  lead  which  occurs  in  any  noticeable  quantity  any- 
where in  the  lead  region  is  the  sulphuret,  the  galena  of  the  mineral- 
ogists, universally  called  "mineral"  by  the  miners  of  that  district- 
When  perfectly  pure  and  free  from  rock,  it  contains  86.6  parts  of 
lead  and  13.4  parts  of  sulphur,  in  the  hundred.  According  to  the 
size  of  the  masses  of  ore,  and  their  arrangement  in  crystalline 
groups,  the  different  varieties  are  distinguished  by  miners,  and  called 
by  names  which  explain  themselves,  such  as  "chunk,"  "dice,"  "cog" 
and  "sheet"  mineral.  The  galena  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  region 

*  The  Zinc  works  at  LaSalle  are  in  successiul  operation  at  this  time,  1866  A.  H.  W. 

—10 


146  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

is  always  crystallized  when  it  has  had  a  vacant  space  in  which  to 
develope  its  crystalline  planes,  and  never  occurs  in  granular  or 
fibrous  forms.  Ores  from  the  lead  mines  of  Southern  Illinois,  in 
Hardin  and  Massac  counties,  and  which  occur  in  the  Mountain 
limestone,  on  the  other  hand,  have  a  granular  and  fibrous  structure, 
quite  unlike  any  specimens  ever  obtained  from  the  northern  part  of 
the  State. 

As  silver  is  almost  invariably  associated  with  galena,  and  often 
in  sufficient  quantity  to  pay  for  separating,  the  lead  ore  of  the 
Northwest  has  been  frequently  examined  for  this  metal,  but  has 
never  been  found  to  contain  enough  of  it  to  be  of  importance; 
indeed  only  the  minutest  trace  of  silver  is  present  in  most  of  the 
specimens  from  this  region  which  have  been  assayed.  The  galena 
from  Southern  Illinois,  on  the  other  hand,  although  not  rich  in 
silver,  has  enough  of  it  to  be  worth  separating,  under  favorable  cir- 
cumstances. The  following  are  the  results  of  some  assays  made  by 
Messrs.  CHANDLEE  and  KIMBALL  at  my  request : 

T  r>noiit^  Per  cent,  of  sil-    Per  cent,  of  sil-    Troy  oz.  silver  in 

ver  in  the  ore.      ver  in  the  lead.          2000  ft  lead. 

Roseclare.  Ill 0.0283  0.0326  9& 

Massac  county,  111 0.0043  0.00496  12% 

Mineral  Point,  Wis 0.0088  0.0101  3 

Kockville,   Wis 0.00038  0.00043  % 

Marsden  Lode,  111 0.00022  0.00025  VM 

All  the  assays  which  have  ever  been  made  of  the  lead  ore  of  the 
Upper  Mississippi  region  prove  it  to  be  very  poor  in  silver.  That 
from  Mineral  Point,  yielding  three  ounces  to  the  2,000  pounds,  is 
the  richest  yet  assayed.  If  there  was  reason  to  believe  that  the  ore 
of  lead  occurring  in  Southern  Illinois  existed  in  any  considerable 
quantity,  the  question  of  the  existence  of  silver  in  connection  with 
it  would  be  one  of  importance.  There  seems  to  be  little  reason  to 
suppose,  however,  that  this  is  the  case,  although  I  cannot,  in  this 
instance,  speak  from  personal  examination  of  the  localities. 

All  mining  engineers  who  have  been  accustomed  to  deep  mining, 
in  other  parts  of  the  world,  are  astonished,  on  visiting  the  Upper 
Mississippi  lead  region,  to  find  that  the  mines  have  never,  in  any 
instance,  been  carried  to  any  great  depth ;  that  in  a  large  majority 
of  cases  they  have  been  wrought  for  a  limited  time  only,  and  have 
then  been  abandoned;  that  many  of  them  have  been,  for  a  certain 
period,  exceedingly  remunerative,  a  large  amount  of  ore  having  been 
raised  with  a  small  expenditure ;  that  instead  of  a  large  body  of 
miners,  working  under  a  company  with  a  costly  plant  (as  the 
machinery  and  fixtures  of  a  mine  are  called),  there  will  be  usually 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   BEGION.  147 

only  a  small  number  of  men  employed  in  any  one  crevice,  and  in  a 
majority  of  cases  only  two;  and  that  their  machinery  will  be  limited 
to  a  windlass  and  a  bucket,  with  the  addition  of  the  simplest  mining 
tools.     It  is  natural  enough,  perhaps,  for  those  who  have  not  looked 
into  the  matter  closely,  and  examined   the  region  and   the  mode  of 
occurrence  of  its  ores,  to  suppose  that  this  system  of  mining  is  some- 
thing for  which  the  miners  themselves  are  responsible,  and  not  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  deposits.     With  this  opinion  we  are  entirely 
unable  to  concur,  believing,  as  we  do,  that  the  nature  of  the  mining 
operations  here  followed  is  in  strict  accordance  with  what  is  demanded 
by  the  nature  of  the  deposits  worked,  and  that,  although  some  changes 
may  be  made  for  the  better  'in  this  respect,   in  the  main  the   same 
system  will  be  pursued  for  a  long  period  to  come,  or  until  the  con- 
ditions of  value  of  labor,  ore,  etc.,  shall  have  greatly  changed  from 
what  they  now  are.     To  maintain  that  the  ore  deposits  of  the  North- 
west are  continuous  in  depth,  and  can  be  worked  downward  indefi- 
nitely, is  to  ignore  all  the  characteristic  features  of  the  lead  region, 
and  to  attempt  to  convict  all  the  miners  who   have  worked  here  of 
imbecility.     In  some  cases  it  is,  indeed,  true  that  valuable  bodies  of 
ore  have  been  left  going  down,  on  account  of   water  and  the  neces- 
sary expense  to  be  incurred  in  removing  it ;  but  this  is  because  the 
general  experience  in  this  region  has  fully  impressed  the  miners  with 
the  belief  that,  in  a  large  majority  of  cases,  the  outlay  required  for 
the   costly   machinery,  with  which  deep    mines    are   kept    free  from 
water,  will  not  be  reimbursed,  as  the  distance  to  which  the  crevices 
can  be  followed,  and  ore  found  in  them,  is  always  limited,  and  does 
not  generally  extend  far  below  the  point  at  which  the  water  becomes 
too  abundant  to  be  kept  under  by  simple  machinery.     No  lead-bearing 
crevice  has  ever  been  traced  into  the  Upper  Sandstone  for  more  than 
a  few  inches,  at  the  most,  in  any  part  of  the  lead  region ;  and  within 
the  limits  of  Illinois  we  have  no  evidence  even  that  the  Blue  lime- 
stone contains  any  workable  or  productive  deposits  of  ore,  although 
farther   north  this  rock  can  be  worked  with  profit.     Therefore,   the 
extreme  limits  in  depth  to  which  a  mine  might  be  carried,  if  extended 
from  the  top  of  the  productive  rock  to  the  bottom  of  that  portion  of 
the   strata   in  which  any  workable  deposit  of   ore   has   been  found, 
would  be  only  about  325  feet,  which  is  the  thickness  of  the  Galena 
and  Blue  limestones,  where   each  is  fully  developed  and   no  portion 
removed  by  denudation.     In  point  of  fact,  however,  no  mine  has  ever 
been  wrought  to  anything  like  that  depth,  since,  in  the  region  where 
the  whole  body  of  Galena  limestone  remains,  as  near  Dubuque  and 
Fair  Play,  there  has  never  been  any  discovery  of  importance  made 


148  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

in  the  lower  part  of  that  rock,  and  much  less  in  the  Blue  limestone ; 
although  both  are  exposed,  in  natural  sections,  on  the  rivers,  so 
that  if  this  part  of  the  series  was  metalliferous,  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  ascertaining  the  fact.  The  deepest  workings  in  the  lead 
region  are  near  Dubuque,  but  I  know  of  no  instance  in  which  they 
have  exceeded  180  feet,  while,  in  a  large  majority  of  instances,  it  is 
certain  that  the  whole  mining  ground  is  comprised  within  less  than 
100  feet,  while  the  productive  portion,  or  the  "openings,"  as  they 
are  called,  occupy  much  less  vertical  space  than  that.  Some  of  the 
heaviest  lodes  near  Galena  have  been  productive  chiefly  in  the 
upper  opening,  being  high  up  in  the  Galena  limestone,  and  when 
sunk  upon  for  lower  openings,  have  failed  to  give  any  satisfactory 
results. 

It  may  be  safely  asserted,  therefore,  that  there  is  no  evidence 
that  the  lead-bearing  crevices  are  continuous  in  depth,  or  that  they 
can  be  worked  as  persistent  mines.  The  crevices,  although  in  some 
respects  analogous  to  what  are  called  "true  veins,"  are,  in  other 
important  points,  quite  different  from  that  class  of  deposits. 

The  ores  of  the  lead  region  are  deposited  in  a  great  variety  of 
forms,  but  the  predominant  ones  are  the  vertical  crevices,  the  flat 
sheet  and  the  flat  opening.  The  vertical  crevice  is  almost  exclusively 
the  characteristic  form  exhibited  in  the  lead  deposits  which  occur  in 
the  middle  and  upper  portions  of  the  Galena  limestone,  while  the 
flat  sheet  openings  are  chiefly  confined  to  the  lower  part  of  that 
rock  and  the  Blue  limestone.  Hence  the  diggings  in  the  vicinity  of 
Galena  are  almost  all  of  the  first  named  class. 

The  term  "crevice"  indicates  a  fissure  in  the  rock,  and  is  nearly 
synonymous  with  the  terms  vein  or  lode,  as  used  in  other  mining 
districts.  In  this  respect  the  lead-bearing  crevices  resemble  true 
veins,  that  they  are  fissures  in  the  rock,  into  which  mineral  and 
metalliferous  substances  have  been  introduced.  They  differ,  on  the 
other  hand,  from  this  class  of  deposits  in  being  limited  in  depth, 
and  also  in  the  nature  and  arrangement  of  the  limestone  or  gangue 
—that  is  to  say,  the  earthy  or  non-metalliferous  minerals  accom- 
panying the  ore.  True  veins  are  generally  supposed  to  have  been 
formed  by  some  deep-seated  cause  acting  from  below,  by  which  the 
whole  series  of  rocks  have  been  fissured  from  below  any  point 
attainable  by  mining  operations,  up  to  the  surface.  Thus  mines 
opened  on  this  class  of  deposits,  if  productive  in  ore,, may  be  pre- 
sumed to  hold  downwards,  and  to  be  capable  of  being  worked  to  an 
indefinite  depth. 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   REGION.  149 

The  crevices  in  the  lead  region  belong  to  that  class  of  mineral 
deposits  which  have  sometimes  been  called  "gash  veins,"  a  term 
applied  to  masses  of  ore  found  occurring  in  fissures  confined  to  a 
particular  set  of  strata  and  not  continuous  in  depth ;  this  mode  of 
occurrence  is  characteristic  of  the  unaltered  sedimentary  rocks,  and 
more  particularly  of'  the  dolomites  and  crystalline  limestones  of 
palaeozoic  age.  These  crevices  are  supposed  to  have  been  produced 
by  some  cause  limited  in  its  action  to  the  particular  set  of  beds  in 
which  they  occur,  and  hence  they  do  not  extend  into  strata  of  a 
different  character  from  those  in  which  they  originated.  This  is  the 
character  of  the  lead  deposits  in  the  Galena  dolomite ;  but  in  the 
Blue  limestone  the  condition  of  things  is  materially  different,  as 
might  be  expected  from  the  different  lithological  character  of  the 
rock.  In  the  Blue  limestone  there  are  no  crevices  with  openings, 
properly  speaking ;  but  only  fissures  or  cracks  leading  down  to  "flat 
openings,"  or  horizontal  beds  of  mineralized  rock,  which  have  been 
brought  into  this  condition  by  metalliferous  solutions  finding  their 
way  from  above. 

The  formation  of  the  fissures  in  the  dolomite  was  undoubtedly 
due  to  a  general  cause  acting  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the 
lead  region,  although  limited  in  vertical  range  to  the  set  of  beds 
forming  a  single  geological  group.  This  we  infer  from  the  strong 
tendency  to  parallelism  in  the  crevices,  which  is  observed  over  the 
whole  district,  and  especially  in  that  part  of  it  where  the  Galena 
limestone  is  most  fully  developed.  A  glance  at  the  map  or  diagram 
of  the  lead-bearing  crevices  in  the  vicinity  of  Galena,  accompanying 
this  Eeport,  and  still  more  at  the  larger  diagram  of  the  same  kind, 
published  in  the  Wisconsin  Keport,  will  convince  every  one  that 
there  is,  everywhere  in  the  lead  region,  a  strongly  marked,  although 
not  absolute,  parallelism  in  the  main  crevices  in  each  district,  and 
that  the  same  statement  holds  good,  taking  the  whole  mining 
region  into  consideration,  although  less  completely  than  where  a 
limited  area  is  observed.  There  is  also,  in  almost  every  portion  of 
the  lead  region  where  the  crevices  are  well  defined,  a  tendency  to 
the  development  of  two  sets  of  fissures  or  crevices,  one  of  which  is 
nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  other;  one  set,  however,  being  usually 
the  productive  one,  while  the  other  carries  only  a  small  amount  of 
ore,  or  none  at  all. 

The  origin  of  these  crevices  seems  to  be  the  same  cause  by  which 
what  are  called  "joints"  by  geologists,  have  been  formed  in  almost 

NOTE.— No  provision  was  made  for  the  reproduction  of  the  maps  published  in  the  origi- 
nal reports,  and  they  are  consequently  omitted  in  this  republication. 


150  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

every  variety  of  rock  occurring  in  large,  homogeneous  masses,  and 
especially  where  a  decided  crystalline  texture  exists  in  them.  Thus 
heavy  strata  of  metamorphic  limestone,  dolomite,  sandstone,  basalt 
and  trap  rock,  are  almost  invariably  divided  into  prismatic  or 
cuboidal  blocks  by  two  or  more  sets  of  fissures  or  cracks,  which  are 
the  more  perfectly  developed  and  more  closely  parallel  in  proportion 
as  the  mass  is  more  homogeneous  and  crystalline  in  its  texture.  In 
the  dolomitic  rocks  of  the  lead  region,  we  have  all  the  conditions 
which  usually  occur  in  the  formation  of  a  well  developed  jointed 
structure,  and  it  is  to  this  class  of  phenomena  that  we  are  inclined 
to  refer  the  lead-bearing  crevices  of  the  district  under  consideration- 

Not  only  is  there  this  tendency  to  a  jointed  structure  in  the  Galena 
dolomite  and  the  consequent  formation  of  two  sets  of  fissures  in  the 
lead  region,  but  it  is  also  a  marked  feature  of  the  district  that  the 
fissures  have  an  approximately  east  and  west  or  north  and  south 
direction — a  fact  which  is  everywhere  recognized  by  the  miners,  and 
which  is  of  great  practical  importance.  All  through  the  mining  dis- 
dricts,  indeed  in  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  as  well  as  in  Illinois,  the 
heaviest  diggings  will  usually  be  found  on  crevices  varying  but  little 
from  east  to  west  in  their  general  direction.  Some  groups  of  crevices 
vary  as  much  as  fifteen  or  twenty  degrees  from  a  true  east  and  west 
course,  but  this  only  in  exceptional  cases. 

The  norths  and  souths,  on  the  other  hand,  or  those  crevices  which 
have  a  course  approximating  to  the  meridian,  are  much  less  import- 
ant, although  these,  in  some  instances,  are  the  main  productive  ones 
of  portions  of  the  lead  regions.  Thus,  in  Illinois,  the  Council  Hill 
diggings  are  chiefly  worked  on  sets  of  crevices,  which  run  from  ten 
to  thirty  degrees  to  the  east  of  north,  while  those  having  an  approxi- 
mate east  and  west  course  are  very  subordinate  in  importance.  In 
the  other  sub-districts  in  Illinois  the  norths  and  souths  are  rarely 
productive,  and  are  usually  mere  seams  or  cracks  in  which  but  little 
ore  has  been  deposited. 

Taking  the  whole  lead  region  into  consideration,  the  ore  occurring 
in  the  north  and  south  fissures  or  crevices  is  mostly  in  the  sheet 
form,  or  in  thin  bodies,  wedged  in  closely  between  walls  of  solid 
rock,  while  in  the  east  and  west  crevices,  openings  have  been  formed 
by  the  widening  of  the  fissures  and  subsequent  decomposition  of  the 
rock  adjacent  to  the  previously  deposited  ore. 

It  is  probable  that  the  east  and  west  course  of  the  principal 
crevices  has  been  determined  by  the  fact  that  this  is  the  direction 
of  the  axis  of  upheaval  by  which  the  whole  lead  region  has  been 
slightly  elevated  along  the  north  boundary  of  the  district,  and  which 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   EEGION.  151 

will  be  seen  to  have  determined  the  drainage  of  the  region,  on 
inspecting  the  map  and  noticing  the  east  and  west  direction  of  the 
water-shed  between  the  rivers  flowing  north  into  the  Wisconsin,  and 
south  directly  into  the  Mississippi,  or  into  tributaries  flowing  in  that 
direction.  This  axis  of  upheaval  may  have  determined  the  course 
of  the  main  set  of  fissures,  while  the  tendency  in  all  the  masses  of 
rock  thus  situated  to  the  formation  of  a  subordinate  set,  nearly  at 
right  angles  to  the  principal  ones,  may  not  be  unreasonably  looked 
on  as  the  origin  of  the  norths  and  souths. 

To  go  into  the  particulars  of  the  mode  of  deposition  of  the  ore  in 
the  fissures,  and  the  subsequent  chemical  and  mechanical  reactions 
by  which  the  deposits  of  metalliferous  matter  have  assumed  their 
present  form  and  position,  would  require  more  space  than  can  here 
be  given  to  that  branch  of  the  subject.  Some  general  remarks  may 
be  made,  however,  which  will  throw  some  light  on  these  complicated 
and  difficult  questions. 

In  the  first  place,  it  may  be  asserted,  with  the  greatest  confidence, 
that  the  deposition  of  the  ore  in  the  fissures  took  place  from  an 
aqueous  solution,  or  in  the  humid  way,  and  not,  as  some  have  main- 
tained, by  sublimation  or  injection  from  below,  or  other  direct  igneous 
agencies.  Everything  connected  with  the  position  of  the  ore  in  the 
crevices,  and  in  relation  to  the  surrounding  rocks,  prove  this  most 
conclusively. 

Again,  the  metals  lead,  zinc  and  iron,  found  occurring  in  the 
lead-bearing  crevices,  were  originally  deposited  as  sulphurets,  or  in 
combination  with  sulphur,  which  is  everywhere  the  most  important 
"mineralizer,"  both  in  the  metamorphic  and  the  unaltered  sedi- 
mentary rocks.  Since  the  deposition  of  the  sulphurets  of  lead, 
zinc  and  iron,  they  have  undergone  decomposition  to  some  extent, 
but  in  quite  different  degrees.  The  ore  of  lead,  galena,  almost 
invariably  remains  in  its  original  forms ;  only  very  insignificant 
quantities  of  the  oxydized  combinations  of  this  metal,  such  as  the 
carbonate,  sulphate  or  phosphate,  which  are  so  common  in  some 
mining  regions,  are  found  here.  The  sulphuret  of  zinc  (black-jack 
of  the  miners)  has  undergone  decomposition  to  a  considerable  extent, 
giving  rise  usually  to  the  carbonate  (dry-bone) ;  but  in  such  cases 
the  evidence  is  not  wanting  that  the  sulphuret  was  the  original 
forms  in  which  the  metal  was  deposited,  and  that  the  carbonate 
was  formed  by  its  oxydation.  The  same  is  the  case  with  the  sul- 
phuret of  iron,  or  pyrites,  called  "mundic"  by  the  miners.  This  ore 
was  almost  everywhere  thrown  down  in  connection  with  the  sul- 
phurets of  zinc ;  but  it  has  undergone  decomposition  to  a  much 


152  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

greater  extent  than  the  sulphurets  of  either  of  the  last  named  metals, 
and  is  now  found  largely  intermixed  with,  or  entirely  converted  into, 
ochre,  which  is  an  impure  earthy  hydrous  peroxyde  of  iron,  a  com- 
mon result,  of  the  action  of  air  and  water  on  the  sulphuret.  Hence 
the  dark  red  color  of  much  of  the  earth  in  the  vicinity  of  the  lead  dig- 
gings, and  the  occurrence  of  considerable  bodies  of  brown  iron  ore 
in  the  crevices,  as  well  as  of  ferruginous  clay,  is  very  common. 

Again,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  filling  of  the  crevices  with  the 
metalliferous  matter  is  shown,  by  many  circumstances  connected 
with  the  mode  of  occurrence  of  the  ores  in  this  region,  to  have 
taken  place  from  above  downwards  as  a  general  thing,  while  evidence 
of  the  introduction  of  the  metalliferous  solution  from  below,  by 
thermal  springs  or  otherwise,  seems  to  be  wholly  wanting.  The 
termination  of  the  crevices  before  reaching  the  Upper  Sandstone, 
the  entire  absence  of  ores  in  this  rock,  and  the  impossibility  of  pro- 
curing evidence  of  the  existence  of  deeply-seated  disturbances  of  the 
rocks,  or  faults,  are  among  the  most  convincing  proofs  of  the  mode 
of  deposition  having  been  from  above,  while  the  several  instances 
have  been  observed  in  which  the  position  of  the  mass  of  ore  was 
such  as  to  show,  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt,  that  the  metal- 
liferous solution  could  not  have  been  introduced  into  the  fissures 

from  below. 

Taking  into   consideration  these   facts,   which  it  is  impossible  to 
avoid  admitting  after  a  careful  study  of  the  region  in  question,  the 
following  is  a  brief  resume  of  the  theoretical  views  to  which  we  have 
been  led  while  endeavoring  to  account  for  the  deposition  of  the  metal- 
liferous ores  in  the  lead-bearing  crevices.    In  the  first  place,  it  seems 
evident  that  the  metals  in  question  must  have  been  in  solution  in  the 
oceanic  waters  from  which  the  rocks  of  the  northwest  were  thrown 
down.    In  this  supposition  there  is  no  difficulty  whatever,  except  to 
explain  why  the  metalliferous  combinations  continued  to  be  held  in 
solution,  or,  in  other  words,  why  they  were  not  deposited  in  the  strata 
which  underlies  the  lead-bearing  formation,  namely :  the  Upper  and 
Lower  sandstones  and  the  Lower  Magnesian  limestone.    What  new 
conditions  occurred  after  the  deposition  of   the   Blue  limestone,   the 
lowest   productive   stratum,    to   cause  a  precipitation  of   the   metals 
which  had  remained  in  solution  during  the  whole  period  which  had 
elapsed  previous  to  the  formation  of  this  rock?    The  only  answer  we 
have  been  able  to  give  to  this  question  is,  that  the  decomposition  of 
the   metalliferous   combinations   existing  in  the   oceanic  waters  was 
effected  by  the  agency  of  the  organic  matter  contained  in  the  rocks 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   REGION.  153 

where  these  mineral  deposits  are  now  found  occurring— a  theory 
which  harmonizes  better  with  the  facts  than  any  other  which  has  yet 
been  put  forward. 

We  know,  from  the  observations  of  chemists  and  the  study  of  natural 
phenomena,  that  the  action  of  decomposing  organic  matter  on  solu- 
tions containing  sulphates  of  the  metals,  causes  a  reduction  and  pre- 
cipitation of  the  metals  in  the  form  of  a  sulphuret,  where  the  condi- 
tions are  favorable  to  the  reaction.  Nothing  can  better  illustrate  this 
fact  than  a  reference  to  the  coal  fields  of  the  West,  in  which  the 
carbonaceous  matter  is  so  universally  found  associated  with  the 
sulphuret  of  iron,  which  occurs  in  it  either  in  bunches  or  nodules, 
or  else  filling  all  the  seams  and  fissures  by  which  the  coal  is  trav- 
ersed. The  oxyd  of  iron  is  never  found  in  this  association,  except 
when  the  mass  has  been  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  air  by  denuda- 
tion at  the  outcrop.  The  same  reaction  has  been  imitated,  on  a 
small  scale,  in  the  laboratory,  by  allowing  animal  matter  to  decompose 
in  contact  with  metalliferous  solutions.  The  occurrence  of  the  sul- 
phuret of  iron  in  the  form  of  various  fossils,  as  is  very  commonly 
the  case,  is  another  fact  illustrating  this  mode  of  formation  of  the 
sulphureted  ores. 

To  make  the  application  of  this  theory  to  the  lead  region,  we  have 
to  notice  the  following  conditions :  The  Upper  and  Lower  sandstones 
and  the  Lower  Magnesian  limestone  appear  to  be  almost  wholly  desti- 
tute of  organic  remains,  except  over  a  few  very  limited  areas.  Through 
the  whole  mass  of  the  Upper  sandstone  not  a  trace  of  a  fossil  has 
ever  been  found.  In  the  Lower  Magnesian  only  a  few  obscure  shells 
have  been  discovered,  near  the  top  of  the  series.  Hence  we  are  justi- 
fied in  asserting  that,  during  the  deposition  of  these  rocks,  there  was 
but  a  very  small  amount  of  organic  matter  present  in  them,  so  that 
there  was  no  efficient  cause  which  could  act  to  produce  a  deposition 
of  metalliferous  matter  from  the  ocean  in  which  the  formation  of  the 
rocks  was  taking  place.  To  have  rendered  these  strata  mineral- 
bearing,  the  ores  must  have  been  introduced  from  below  by  thermal 
springs  or  otherwise,  a  method,  as  we  have  seen,  not  supported  by 
the  facts  developed  in  this  survey. 

When  we  have  risen  as  high  in  the  geological  series,  however,  as 
the  Blue  limestone,  we  find  a  sudden  and  enormous  development  of 
animal  life ;  so  that  a  large  part  of  the  strata  composing  this  group 
is  made  up,  almost  exclusively,  of  the  remains  of  crustaceans,  corals, 
mollusks  and  other  of  the  lower  types  of  organized  existence.  And 
it  is  precisely  in  these  strata,  so  crowded  with  fossils,  that  the  first 
important  deposits  of  the  sulphurets  of  zinc  and  lead  are  found — a 


104  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

coincidence  which  can  hardly  be  looked  on  as  accidental.  The  Galena 
limestone  above  is  apparently  much  less  fossiliferous,  and  this  might 
be  urged  as  an  objection  to  the  theory  here  advocated;  but  on  close 
examination  it  will  be  found  that  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  por- 
tions, at  least,  of  this  member  of  the  series  are,  to  a  large  extent, 
made  up  of  the  remains  of  marine  plants,  whose  structure  has  become 
partially  obliterated  by  the  process  of  crystallization  which  the  rock 
has  undergone  since  its  deposition.  The  surfaces  of  many  of  the  beds, 
especially  in  the  lower  and  upper  parts  of  the  Galena  limestone,  are 
wholly  covered  with  branching  forms,  which  undoubtedly  represent 
what  was  once  a  vigorous  growth  of  marine  vegetation,  and  which 
may  have  largely  contributed  to  the  accumulation  of  the  material  of 
the  rock  itself,  by  its  development  and  decay.  We  have  been  shown, 
by  the  researches  of  eminent  chemists,  and  especially  by  FOBCHHAMMER, 
that  many  of  this  class  of  plants  contain  a  large  amount  of  the  sul- 
phates, and  that  in  their  decay  they  evolve  sulphureted  hydrogen  gas, 
the  most  efficient  agent  in  the  precipitation  of  the  metals.  Here  we 
have  another  important  influence  at  work  in  the  same  direction  as 
that  previously  noticed. 

If  the  idea  of  the  precipitation  of  the  metals  from  the  primeval 
oceanic  waters,  as  sulphurets,  by  the  agency  of  decomposing  organic 
matter,  be  adopted — and  that  it  is  not  in  opposition  to  what  chem- 
istry requires  is  certain — we  shall  have  a  key  to  some  of  the  most 
interesting  questions  in  the  geology  of  metalliferous  deposits.  We 
have  in  the  Azoic*  series  a  /ast  mass  of  rocks,  deposited  from  water 
before  the  introduction  of  organic  life  on  the  globe,  as  far  as  the 
evidence  goes,  at  least;  and  from  the  result  of  all  explorations  up 
to  the  present  time,  it  would  appear  that  this  is  a  formation  by  no 
means  rich  in  metalliferous  ores,  excepting  those  of  iron,  which  have 
apparently  been  poured  out  from  the  interior  of  the  earth  in  moun- 
tain masses,  but  in  the  oxidized  form,  and  not  as  sulphurets. 
Nothing  can  be  more  striking  than  the  absolute  freedom  from  sul- 
phur, as  an  impurity,  in  the  protoxides  which  occur  in  such  vast 
quantity  in  the  Lake  Superior  and  Missouri  iron  regions,  which  both 
belong  to  the  Azoic  series. 

*  Since  this  report  was  written,  the  Canadian  survey  has  brought  to  light  facts  estab- 
lishing the  existence  of  organized  beings  during  the  deposition  of  the  so-called  Azoic 
rocks,  This,  however,  does  not  necessarily  invalidate  the  views  here  expressed  by  Prof. 
WHITNEY,  since  it  is  by  no  means  probable  that  animals  or  vegetables  existed  in  sufficient 
numbers,  during  the  early  periods  of  the  earth's  history,  to  exercise  any  perceptible  influ- 
ence in  the  way  of  causing,  by  their  decomposition,  the  precipitation  of  the  metallic  sul- 
phurets. A.  H.  W. 


GEOLOGY  OF  THE  LEAD  REGION.  155 

It  seems,  from  all  that  can  be  learned  of  the  occurrence  of  the 
metalliferous  ores  throughout  the  world,  that  they  are  much  more 
abundant  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  great  fossiliferous  series, 
namely,  the  Silurian,  than  in  any  other  of  the  higher  groups,  and 
that  there  is  a  gradual  decline  in  the  number  and  magnitude  of  the 
veins  worked  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  as  we  proceed  upwards 
in  the  geological  scale.  That  the  great  storehouse  of  metals  all 
over  the  world  is  the  Palaeozoic  series  of  rocks,  will  probably  be 
admitted  by  all,  and  it  can  be  shown  that,  in  many  cases,  where 
metalliferous  deposits  are  found  in  higher  groups  of  strata,  they 
have  been  conveyed  upwards  by  the  action  of  thermal  springs  from 
the  great  depositories  of  ore  in  lower  formations.  In  many  cases, 
no  doubt,  the  deposition  in  the  lower  rocks  took  place  uniformly 
through  the  mass  of  the  stratum,  circumstances  not  favoring  an 
accumulation  in  veins  or  crevices.  Where  the  rock  was  a  solid, 
compact  material,  the  absence  of  fissures  would  prevent  such  deposits 
from  taking  place  as  are  found  in  the  lead  region;  and  although  a 
large  amount  of  metalliferous  matter  might  be  really  accumulated 
in  a  given  stratum,  it  might  escape  notice  from  the  fact  of  its  being 
so  uniformly  distributed  through  it.  Chemists  have  not,  until 
recently,  directed  their  attention  to  this  mode  of  occurrence  of  the 
metalliferous  combinations,  and  they  have  naturally  been  overlooked 
as  not  presenting  inducements  for  mining  enterprise.  What  is  called 
"metamorphic  action,"  by  which  term  geologists  and  chemists  des- 
ignate the  long  series  of  chemical  changes  which  have  taken  place 
in  the  rocks  over  certain  wide  areas,  converting  them  into  hard 
and  crystalline  masses,  has  usually  developed  veins,  frequently 
of  great  economical  importance,  in  rocks  of  Palaeozoic  age ;  and  the 
mining  geologist  expects,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  find  such 
rocks  more  or  less  rich  in  workable  veins  or  other  deposits  of  ore. 

To  follow  out  these  views  in  detail  must  be  reserved  for  another 
opportunity.  It  is  sufficient  here  to  have  given  a  general  idea  of  the 
processes  by  which  deposition  of  the  ores  of  the  lead  region  may 
have  taken  place.  There  are  still  many  difficult  points  to  be  inves- 
tigated, to  which  we  hope  to  direct  our  attention  at  some  future 
time. 

Detailed  Description  of  Some  of  the  Principal  Diggings  in  Illinois. 

The  following  are  such  particulars  as  have  been  collected  with 
regard  to  the  principal  crevices  and  diggings  worked  near  Galena 
and  in  Northwestern  Illinois;  but  it  must  be  premised  that  the 


156  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

information  obtained  is  in  many  respects  defective,  partly  from  want 
of  time  to  do  the  work  thoroughly,  but  still  more  from  the  difficulty 
of  getting  reliable  information  concerning  old  crevices  long  since 
worked  out  and  abandoned.  In  many  cases  the  miners  who  worked 
the  old  lodes  are  either  dead  or  have  left  the  district,  or  have  for- 
gotten or  failed  to  notice  the  particulars  of  the  occurrence  of  the  ore. 

The  principal  groups  of  diggings  or  mining  sub-districts,  as  they 
may  be  called,  in  Northwestern  Illinois,  are :  1st,  diggings  in  the 
vicinity  of  Galena ;  2d,  the  Vinegar  Hill  diggings ;  3d,  the  Council 
Hill  diggings ;  4th,  the  Apple  River  diggings,  with  which  a  few  scat- 
tered and  unimportant  ones  near  Warren  may  be  connected ;  and 
5th,  the  Elizabeth  diggings,  also  on  Apple  River,  and  which  may  be 
called  by  this  name  to  distinguish  them  from  the  mines  near  Apple 
River  station. 

The  Galena  diggings  are  situated  in  a  circle  of  somewhat  over 
three  miles  in  diameter,  of  which  the  city  would  be  the  centre. 
The  most  important  ones  now  worked  are  to  the  north  of  the  city, 
although  some  very  heavy  deposits  have  been  mined  to  the  south- 
west. 

A  little  east  of  the  city,  on  section  21,  and  especially  on  the  east 
half,  there  are  many  groups  of  crevices,  forming  mineral  lots.  Of 
these  the  following  may  be  specified : 

The  Gaffner  range  runs  south  87°  east ;  worked  62  feet  deep ;  ore 
occurs  in  a  crevice  with  decomposed  rock  and  flints ;  yield  estima- 
mated  at  300,000  pounds. 

Kloepfer  range,  a  little  southeast  of  the  Gaffner ;  the  southernmost 
of  a  group  of  crevices,  having  a  course  about  south  78°  east ;  worked 
35  feet;  ore  in  hard  rock,  apparently  in  the  lower  flint  beds  of  the 
Galena  limestone ;  has  yielded  50,000  pounds. 

Barrow  lot,  a  group  of  crevices  running  south  87°  east,  crossed  by 
some  norths  and  souths ;  worked  about  60  feet  deep ;  some  dry-bone 
and  black-jack  found  here,  in  decomposed  rock  and  ochre;  yield 
1,000,000  pounds. 

There  are  several  groups  of  short  crevices,  which  vary  little  from 
east  and  west,  worked  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  this  section  (21), 
along  the  branch  which  runs  into  Fever  river  from  the  southeast. 
Morelli  &  Monti  worked  one  group  of  east  and  west  to  the  depth  of 
35  to  60  feet ;  ore  in  sand  and  ochre ;  yield  given  as  100,000  pounds. 

The  Albert  Smith  diggings,  near  the  quarter-post  on  the  south 
line  of  section  21,  are  worked  on  a  short  set  of  easts  and  wests, 
from  25  to  40  feet  deep,  and  have  yielded  100,000  pounds. 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE    LEAD   REGION.  157 

On  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  16,  just  north  of  the  section 
last  noticed,  there  are  several  small  groups  of  diggings,  but  none  of 
them  on  heavy  lodes.  They  are  on  the  bluffs  which  overhang  the 
city  to  the  north  and  extend  up  Furnace  creek.  The  Binsemer 
diggings  are  at  the  centre  of  the  section;  they  are  worked  on  a 
group  of  short  easts  and  wests,  to  a  depth  of  30  to  35  feet ;  yield 
50,000  pounds.  Beber  diggings,  worked  from  20  to  80  feet  deep ; 
have  yielded  some  dry-bone  with  the  lead  ore,  in  ochre  and  decom- 
posed rock ;  yield  400,000  pounds.  Evans  diggings,  ore  in  hard  rock ; 
depth  25  to  38  feet;  yield  50,000  pounds. 

Section  9,  just  north  of  the  one  last  noticed,  has  on  it  some  of 
the  heaviest  lodes  yet  worked  in  this  vicinity,  or,  indeed,  anywhere 
in  the  lead  region.  There  is  a  group  of  five  ranges  on  the  south 
half  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  section ;  these  have  been  worked 
or  traced  from  a  quarter  to  a  third  of  a  mile  in  length,  and  are 
from  200  to  160  feet  apart.  These  ranges  are  very  nearly  east 
and  west,  ranging  from  two  to  five  degrees  to  the  north  of  east. 
The  most  southerly  of  these  has  been  recently  opened,  and  has  not 
produced  much.  North  of  this,  at  a  distance  of  200  feet,  is  the 
Shuster  range,  worked  50  feet  deep;  has  yielded  from  50,000  to  75,- 
000  pounds,  in  disintegrated  rock  and  ochre.  North  again,  220  feet, 
is  the  Graves  range,  worked  40  feet  deep ;  has  yielded  100,000,  Gaff- 
ner  range,  worked  80  feet  deep ;  a  very  heavy  range  on  a  crevice 
opening,  filled  with  ochre,  disintegrated  rocks  and  galena;  yield 
estimated  at  2,500,000.  Whitham  range,  worked  about  90  feet  deep, 
on  a  crevice  running  nearly  east  and  west ;  yield  estimated  at  5,000,- 
000  pounds. 

Another  group  of  ranges  lies  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  northwest 
of  the  last  noticed ;  they  are  six  in  number,  but  three  of  them  only 
are  of  importance.  The  famous  Buck  lode,  which  was  one  of  the 
first,  if  not  the  first,  worked  in  the  region,  and  which  is  said  to 
have  been  known  to  the  Indians,  and  mined  by  them,  is  one  of  this 
group.  This  crevice  makes  a  very  wide  opening,  almost  up  to  the  sur- 
face on  the  top  of  the  ridge,  which  is  about  200  feet  above  the  Blue 
limestone,  as  near  as  could  be  made  out.  A  shaft  three  or  four 
feet  deep  in  the  rock,  to  the  cap,  is  pointed  out  as  having  been 
opened  before  the  first  white  man  came  to  this  country;  but  along 
most  of  the  lode  the  cap-rock  has  fallen  in,  and  the  crevice  is  open 
to  the  surface,  there  being  here  no  clay  or  detritus  upon  the  rock. 
The  upper  opening  is  about  25  feet  deep  in  vertical  height,  and 
from  10  to  15  feet  wide,  with  a  key-rock,  two  or  three  feet  in  width, 
running  through  the  centre.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  ore  was 


158  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

obtained  from  this  opening,  and  the  yield  is  estimated  at  from  three 
to  ten  millions  of  pounds ;  no  one  knows  accurately  how  much  this 
lode  has  produced,  but  all  agree  in  making  it  one  of  the  heaviest 
which  has  ever  been  worked  in  the  lead  region.  A  second  opening, 
six  feet  high,  was  struck  at  20  feet  below  the  main  one,  and  a  third, 
45  feet  below  the  second,  but  I  have  never  seen  any  ore  raised  from 
this  opening.  The  crevice  has  a  course  north  87°  east,  at  the  point 
where  it  is  the  widest  and  richest.  The  Cringle  lode  is  a  little  south 
of  the  Buck;  it  has  been  worked  85  feet  deep,  and  has  yielded,  as 
is  reported,  from  one  to  one  and  a  half  millions.  The  Doe  lode  is 
next  south  of  the  Cringle ;  it  is  said  to  have  been  worked  about  75 
feet  deep,  and  to  have  yielded  about  150,000  pounds. 

A  group  of  ranges  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  northwest  quar- 
ter of  this  section  (9)  has  been  recently  worked  with  considerable 
activity  and  success.  Of  these,  the  Sanders  range  is  the  largest. 
These  ranges  are  worked  to  the  depth  of  from  60  to  80  feet  into  the 
flint  beds,  and  have  yielded  from  100,000  to  300,000  pounds  of  ore  each. 

On  section  12,  in  the  adjoining  township  west  (township  28,  range 
1  west),  there  are  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  section  a  consid- 
erable number  of  important  ranges  which  have  been,  and  are  still, 
profitably  mined.  There  are  several  small  groups  of  crevices  south 
of  the  line  dividing  the  section  through  the  centre  east  and  west. 
These  ,are  worked  from  60  to  80  feet  deep,  but  are  not  very  produc- 
tive. The  Sanders  lot  is  on  this  line,  and  has  been  worked  to  the 
depth  of  from  60  to  SO  feet,  turning  out  about  1,500,000  pounds.  Farther 
north,  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  quarter  section  (northeast  quarter, 
section  12,)  are  several  very  heavy  ranges,  near  each  other  and 
almost  exactly  parallel.  Of  these,  the  Crombacker  range  is  said  to 
have  yielded  1,500,000.  It  has  been  worked  from  t'O  to  90  feet  deep. 
The  Brandel,  Eberhardt,  Widmer  &  Voltz,  Monti  d-  Leonhardt,  in  order 
from  south  to  north,  are  other  crevices,  worked  recently,  and  to  a 
depth  of  70  to  85  feet.  Some  of  these  have  yielded  handsomely. 
The  Morehead  lot  is  near  the  north  line  of  the  section.  It  has  sev- 
eral parallel  crevices  on  it,  of  which  the  Wallis,  LeonJiardt  and  Klein 
may  be  specified.  These  are  worked  from  50  to  90  feet  in  depth, 
and  the  lot  is  said  to  have  yielded  1,500,000.  The  Comstock  range 
is  a  little  north  of  the  section  line  on  section  1.  This  range  has 
been  worked  over  a  quarter  of  mile  in  length,  and  has  yielded  from 
1,500,000  to  2,000,000.  The  depth  to  which  it  was  mined  is  stated 
at  from  70  to  95  fee.t. 

Passing  to  the  southwest,  we  find,  on  section  14,  two  miles  west 
of  Galena,  several  groups  of  crevices,  all  running  nearly  east  and 


GEOLOGY   OF   THE   LEAD   EEGION.  159 

west.  The  Wallis  diggings  are  worked  from  20  to  35  feet  deep,  and 
are  reported  as  having  yielded  500,000.  The  Mannett  do  Bassett  dig- 
gings are  chiefly  in  the  adjoining  section  west.  They  have  produced 
from  400,000  to  500,000.  The  Strickel  diggings  are  east  of  the  last 
named,  and  are  from  15  to  25  feet  deep,  having  yielded  200,000. 
The  diggings  in  this  vicinity  are  shallow,  and  water  is  struck  near 
the  surface. 

On  the  next  section  south,  namely,  section  23,  there  are  several  pro- 
ductive mining  lots.  The  Sanders  lot,  on  or  near  the  central  east  and 
west  line  of  the  section,  is  worked  to  a  depth  of  75  feet,  and  has 
produced  1,500,000.  The  Tomlin  lot,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of 
the  Sanders,  and  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  northeast  quarter  of 
the  section  (23),  is  a  group  of  diggings  covering  considerable  space, 
and  worked  from  30  to  80  feet  deep.  The  De  Toya  lot,  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of 
the  section,  has  yielded  200,000  to  300,000,  and  good  ore  is  said  to 
have  been  left  going  down  in  the  water  at  a  depth  of  45  feet.  The 
Flege  diggings,  near  the  centre  of  the  section,  .have  been  worked  30 
to  88  feet  deep,  and  have  yielded  about  50,000. 

On  the  next  section  south,  namely:  section  20,  township  28, 
range  1  west,  there  are  some  very  heavy  diggings,  called  the  "  Low 
diggms."  Bennett  &  Harris'  is  the  principal  range.  This  has  been 
worked  30  to  50  feet  deep,  on  five  parallel  east  and  west  crevices, 
about  50  feet  apart;  they  have  yielded  several  millions.  Water  is 
reached  here  at  50  feet  in  depth.  The  Marfield  diggings  are  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  section,  and  are  worked  about  60  feet  deep, 
and  have  yielded  500,000.  The  Bennett  &  Harris  diggings  were 
worked  on  flat  sheets  in  the  rock,  these  being  all  in  the  lower  beds 
of  the  Galena  limestone.  Water  is  reached  in  this  vicinity  at  a 
comparatively  small  depth,  and  good  bodies  of  ore  are  said  to  have 
been  left  in  some  places  on  account  of  this  difficulty. 

Passing  now  about  six  miles  north  of  the  city  of  Galena,  we  have 
an  extensive  series  of  diggings,  having  a  general  northeast  and 
southwest  development  over  an  area  of  about  three  miles  in  length, 
beginning  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  25,  township  29,  range 
1  west,  and  extending  by  Vinegar  Hill  to  Fever  river  where  it  inter- 
sects the  State  line.  Here  this  series  meets  another,  coming  in 
from  the  southeast  from  Council  Hill.  The  Vinegar  Hill  diggings,  as 
the  above  specified  area  is  called,  have  been  very  extensive,  but  are 
now  of  much  less  importance. 

On  section  25,  township  29,  range  1  west,  there  are  considerable 
diggings,  near  the  centre  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  section.  West- 


160  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

wick's  lot  has  on  it  a  large  number  of  short  crevices,  running  from 
south  68°  to  south  82°  east.     Water  is   struck  here  at  only  20  feet 
from  the  surface.     The  lot  has  turned  out,  it  is  said,  1,500,000.     The 
Harvey  Mann  lot  is  adjacent  on  the  east.     It  is  traversed  by  numer- 
ous crevices,  having  a  course  about  north  80°  west.     There  is  water 
near  the  surface.     Yield  given  as  50,000.      In  the  northeast  corner 
of  the    section,  and   crossing   the  line  into  the  adjacent  fractional 
section  east,  there  are  several  groups  of   diggings  of   some   import- 
ance.     The   Feehan  diggings  are   in   the   northeast   quarter  of  the 
section,  a  little  south  of  the  centre  of  the  quarter.     They  are  shal- 
low diggings  in  the  clay,  and    have    yielded   50,000.      There    are   a 
great   many   crevices   running   across   the   east  line  of   this  quarter 
section.     Of  these  the  Trewett  lot  has  produced  100,000 ;   the  Feehan 
50,000.     These  diggings  are  worked  from  70  to  90  feet  deep,  the  ore 
being  in  the  flint  beds  of  the  Galena.     The  Pfei/ner  diggings,  a  little 
north  of  the  last  named,  have  yielded  from  200,000  to  300,000.     The 
depth  to  which  they  have  been  worked  is  from  60  to  90  feet.     The 
south  half  of   section  20  and  the   southwest  quarter  of   section  21, 
are  covered  with  diggings.     The  village  of  Vinegar  Hill  is  on  section 
20.     The  diggings  are  worked  on  lots   of  parallel  crevices  running 
nearly  east  and  west,  and  crossed  by  norths  and  souths.    They  are 
generally    from    50    to    70  feet;   sometimes  as   much   as   90.     The 
following  yields  are  reported   as   the    amounts  produced  by  the  dif- 
ferent lots  in  this  vicinity :     Four  groups  of  diggings  in  the  north- 
east  quarter   of   the    southwest   quarter   of   section  21,  on  crevices 
running  5°  to  10°  north  of  west,  have  yielded,  in  all,  as  is  reported, 
from  3,000,000  to  5,000,000.      The   ranges   in    section  20   have  also 
yielded  several  millions.     But  little  was  doing  here,  however,  when 
this  place  was  last  visited,  and  consequently  it  was  difficult  to  pro- 
cure any  reliable  information. 

On  the  fractional  sections  14  and  15,  township  29,  range  1  east, 
there  are  several  important  groups  of  diggings  close  by  the  State 
line,  or  intersected  by  it.  On  the  centre  line  of  section  14  are  the 
Waterman  ranges,  worked  from  50  to  70  feet  deep.  They  are  on 
crevices  running  about  north  60°  east,  and  traversed  by  others 
nearly  at  right  angles  to  this  direction ;  yield  of  both  diggings  140,000. 
The  most  important  range  in  section  15  is  the  Widow  Gray  range, 
which  crosses  the  State  line  and  runs  about  5°  north  of  east.  It 
has  produced  nearly  1,000,000  pounds. 

Of  the  other  groups  of  diggings  about  Vinegar  Hill,  there  is  but 
little  to  communicate  of  importance. 


GEOLOGY   OF  THE   LEAD   REGION.  161 

Not  having  made  any  special  examination  of  the  Council  Hill 
diggings,  not  much  can  be  said  in  regard  to  them.  According  to 
Mr.  SCHELLER'S  surveys,  there  is  a  heavy  group  of  ranges  running 
nearly  northeast  and  southwest,  over  half  a  mile  in  length,  and 
distant  about  an  eighth  of  a  mile  from  Council  Hill  street  and  vil- 
lage, and  to  the  northwest  of  that  place.  This  group  is  said  to 
have  vielded  10,000,000  pounds. 

South  of  Council  Hill,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  25,  are  the  South  diggings,  on  numerous  crevices, 
running  north  5°  to  10°  east.  These  are  worked  from  30  to  55  feet 
in  depth,  and  have  yielded  about  1,560,000.  The  Negro  diggings,  at 
the  south  corner  of  section  25,  township  29,  range  1  east,  and  sec- 
tion 30,  township  29,  range  2  east,  are  nearly  parallel  with  those 
last  named,  and  have  yielded  about  the  same  quantity  of  ore.  The 
Alderson  lot,  a  little  east  of  the  Negro  ranges,  and  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  30,  have  worked  from 
15  to  60  feet  deep,  and  have  produced  about  500,000  pounds. 

To  the  west  and  southwest  of  the  Council  Hill  station,  on  the 
Illinois  Central  Eailroad,  are  extensive  ranges  of  diggings.  The 
Rocky  Point  diggings,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  36,  township  29,  range  1  east,  are  on  a  group  of 
crevices  about  north  30°  east.  These  are  worked  from  15  to  75  feet 
deep,  and  have  yielded  about  2,000,000  Ibs.  The  Drummond  lot  and 
Tunnel  diggings,  on  the  north  half  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  31,  township  29,  range  2  east,  are  on 
east  and  west  crevices,  and  have  produced  together  about  750,000. 
South  of  the  railroad,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  36,  are 
several  mineral  lots,  with  groups  of  crevices,  which  are  about  north 
20°  east,  across  the  quarter  section.  Of  these  the  Enner  lot,  worked 
C5  feet  deep,  has  produced  500,000  Ibs.  The  Simcox  &  Co.  lot  about  the 
same,  and  the  M'Lane,  also  500,000.  There  are  other  scattered 
ranges,  without  names,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  36,  which  are  nearly  parallel  to  those  last  men- 
tioned. Bolt's  lot,  on  the  west  half  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 31,  township  29,  range  2  east,  is  traversed  by  numerous  nearly 
parallel  sets  of  crevices,  having  a  course  of  north  15°  to  30°  east. 
This  lot  has  yielded  about  4,000,000  pounds. 

The  Apple  river  and  Elizabeth  diggings,  formerly  of   considerable 

importance,  have  now  much  fallen  off  in  productiveness.     At  Apple 

river  heavy  bodies   of  ore  are   occasionally  struck  near  the  surface, 

on  the  east  and  west  open  crevices,  but  they  have  not  been  found 

—11 


162  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

to  hold  their  richness  to  any  considerable  depth.  The  Elizabeth 
diggings,  which,  soon  after  being  struck,  gave  employment  to  800 
miners,  are  now  but  little  worked.  When  visited  by  me,  in  1857, 
they  were  said  to  be  producing  from  400,000  to  600,000  per  annum. 
The  crevices  usually  have  been  found  to  close  up  before  reaching 
the  flint  beds  of  the  Galena,  which  is  from  130  to  150  feet  below 
the  surface.  It  would  be  possible  to  sink  15  or  20  feet  in  the  flint 
without  trouble  from  water,  but  there  has  not  been  much  encour- 
agement to  do  it.  In  some  cases,  however,  this  has  been  done  with 
tolerable  success.  At  the  Haggerty  diggings,  which  were  working 
in  1857,  a  shaft  had  been  sunk  130  feet  to  the  flint  beds,  and  from 
5  to  15  feet  in  thickness  of  that  rock,  worked  out  partially  over  an 
area  of  350  feet  east  and  west  by  140  feet  north  and  south.  The 
ore  was  found  in  flat  sheets,  in  the  hard  rock,  connected  by  vertical 
fissures,  as  usual  in  the  flat  openings  in  this  geological  position. 
Of  the  total  amount  produced  at  the  Elizabeth  diggings  I  have  no 
information. 

NOTE— Since  the  above  was  written,  I  learn  from  E.  H.  BEEBE,  Esq.,  of  Galena,  that  there 
are  five  furnaces  running  within  the  limits  of  Illinois,  which  produce  about  125,000  pigs  per 
annum  or  8,750,000  pounds,  or  nearly  4,000  tons  (of  2,240).  Some  of  the  ore  smelted  in  these 
furnaces  is  brought  from  Wisconsin,  but  what  proportions  I  am  unable  to  say.  The  total 
production  of  the  lead  region  will  probably  be  found  to  have  been  considerably  larger  in 
1860  than  in  any  of  the  preceding  five  or  six  years.  It  will  hardly  fall  much  short  20,000  tons 


CHAPTEE    VI. 

THE  COAL  FIELD  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Of  all  the  mineral  products  of  our  mother  earth,  none  are  more 
important  for  the  comfort  and  general  well  being  of  the  human 
race  than  the  fossil  fuels  that  are  hidden  beneath  the  surface. 

Coal  has  been  aptly  called  the  mainspring  of  modern  progress, 
for  it  not  only  warms  our  houses  and  lights  our  cities,  but  it  fur- 
nishes the  motive  power  of  our  varied  industries,  and  the  material 
by  which  our  vast  resources  of  mineral  wealth  are  reduced  to  their 
refined  metallic  forms,  and  thus  made  available  for  man's  use. 
Cheap  fuel  cheapens  transportation,  and  reduces  the  cost  of  manu- 
facturing the  raw  products  of  the  country  to  the  lowest  rates,  so 
that  steam  becomes  the  successful  competitor  of  water  power  in  the 
great  manufacturing  industries  of  the  age. 

Coal  is  undoubtedly  of  vegetable  origin,  but  whether  it  is  the 
product  of  marine  or  land  plants,  is  a  point  not  yet  fully  deter- 
mined. Until  a  very  recent  period,  geologists  have  pretty  generally 
agreed  that  coal  was,  for  the  most  part  at  least,  derived  from  land 
plants  growing  in  low,  boggy  marshes  upon  the  spot  where  the  coal 
is  now  found.  This  view  seemed  to  be  well  sustained  by  the  pre- 
valence of  land  plants  both  in  the  roof  shales  as  well  as  in  the 
underclays  of  the  coal,  and  the  occurrence  of  thin  layers  of  min- 
eral charcoal  between  the  more  compact  layers  of  the  coal  itself. 
But  in  this  State,  the  coal  and  the  shales  containing  land  plants 
in  profusion,  are  often  found  enclosed  between  limestones  filled  with 
the  remains  of  marine  animals,  leaving  no  doubt  that  these  lime- 
stones were  of  marine  origin,  and  thus  leading  some  to  suspect  that 
the  coal  itself  was  also  derived  in  part,  if  not  wholly,  from  marine 
plants. 

Assuming  that  the  coal  has  been  derived  wholly  from  land  plants, 
we  must  also  assume  that  during  the  entire  coal-producing  period, 


164  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

oscillations  of  the  surface  were  of  constant  occurrence,  elevating  the 
whole  area  of  the  coal  field  above  the  surface  of  the  ocean  as  often 
as  there  are  distinct  seams  of  coal,  and  the  subsequent  subsidence 
of  the  whole,  to  permit  the  accumulation  of  the  sandstones,  shales 
and  limestones  that  intervene  between  the  various  beds  of  coal. 
This  assumption  is  not  sustained  by  any  known  phenomena  of 
modern  times,  and  furthermore  requires  a  period  of  time  for  the 
formation  of  our  Coal  Measures  far  greater  than  has  generally  been 
conceded  to  any  of  the  main  divisions  of  the  Palaeozoic  series. 

As  early  as  1861,  Dr.  Fred.  Mohr,  in  his  work  on  Chemical 
Geology,  argued  very  forcibly  in  favor  of  the  theory  that  coal  was 
formed  by  the  massing  together  of  marine  algse,  or  seaweeds,  in  bays 
or  other  quiet  waters,  through  the  action  of  ocean  currents,  analo- 
gous to  the  accumulations  in  the  Sargasso  Sea  of  modern  times. 
This  view,  however,  did  not  gain  the  general  approval  of  American 
geologists,  mainly,  perhaps,  from  the  fact  that  nearly'  all  the  fossil 
plants  found  in  connection  with  the  coal  were  such  as  grew  only 
upon  the  land,  including,  in  some  cases,  whole  forests  of  SigiUarids 
and  Lepidodendroids,  whose  roots  penetrated  the  underclay  upon 
which  the  coal  rested,  while  their  stems  had  apparently  gone  to 
form,  in  part  at  least,  the  solid  structure  of  the  -coal  itself. 

During  the  present  year,  however,  Prof.  REINSCH!  has  published 
a  work  on  the  microscopical  structure  of  coal  of  different  ages, 
from  the  true  Carboniferous  to  the  Trias ;  basing  his  conclusions 
upon  the  examination  of  1,200  carefully  prepared  microscopical  sec- 
tions of  the  different  varieties  of  bituminous  coal,  and  his  observa- 
tions are  worthy  of  more  than  a  passing  notice.  He  found  the 
organic  forms  that  abound  in  the  coal  to  consist  mainly  of  Proto- 
phytae,  or  plants  without  distinct  cell  structure,  of  which  Bacterium, 
Vibrios,  etc.,  are  analogous  living  forms.  His  specimens  were  no 
doubt  obtained  from  European  coals,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  the  coals  of  Europe  and  America  have  not  been  formed 
under  similar  conditions.  His  observations  seem  to  point  to  the 
conclusion  that  fresh-water  plants  enter  largely  into  the  structure 
of  European  coals,  but  we  are  left  in  doubt  as  to  whether  the  strata 
with  which  the  coal  seams  are  there  associated,  are  of  marine  or 
fresh-water  origin. 

Whether  Prof.  REINSCH'S  theory  of  the  origin  of  coal  will  obtain  a 
general  acceptance,  the  future  must  determine,  but  it  would  certainly 

t  Neue  Untersuckungen  ueber  die  Microstructur  der  SteinkoJile  des  Carbon,  der  Dyas  und 
Trias.    Von  Paulus  Frederich  Eeinsch.    Leipzig:    T.  O.  Wiegel,  1881. 


THE   COAL   FIELD   OF   ILLINOIS.  165 

relieve  the  subject  of  some  of  its  most  difficult  aspects,  if  we  could 
substitute  accumulations  of  fresh-water  or  marine  plants,  brought 
together  in  extensive  basins  by  water  currents,  for  successive  growths 
of  land  plants,  as  the  probable  origin  of  our  western  coal  deposits. 
.  But  whatever  the  origin  of  coal  may  have  been,  whether  it  is  due  to 
the  growth  of  land  or  marine  vegetation,  its  use  and  importance  to  the 
industrial  prosperity  and  power  of  a  nation  will  scarcely  be  called  in 
question. 

The  geographical  extent  of  the  Illinois  coal  field  within  the  borders 
of  the  State,  may  be  placed  in  round  numbers  at  about  35,000  square 
miles,  and  its  boundaries  may  be  briefly  defined  as  follows :  Com- 
mencing on  the  northeastern  border,  in  Grundy  county,  its  northern 
boundary  extends  nearly  due  west  to  the  Mississippi  river  a  few 
miles  above  Bock  Island,  and  from  thence  its  western  boundary 
extends  down  th^  river  nearly  to  the  north  line  of  Henderson 
county,  where  it  trends  inland  for  a  few  miles  from  the  river,  leav- 
ing a  belt  of  older  rocks  between  the  Coal  Measures  and  the  river 
on  the  western  border  of  the-  State,  varying  in  width'  from  ten  to 
thirty  miles,  as  far  south  as  the  southern  part  of  Jackson  county, 
from  whence  it  trends  eastward  through  Johnson,  Pope  and  Hardin 
counties,  crossing  the  Ohio  river  near  Battery  Eock,  and  extending 
thence  into  Kentucky  and  Indiana,  and  covering  a  large  area  in 
both  of  those  States. 

The  term  Coal  Measures  applies  to  all  the  beds  of  rock  with 
which  the  coal  is  interstratified.  They  consist,  for  the  most  part, 
of  sandstones,  sandy  and  argillaceous  shalas,  bituminous  shales  and 
limestones,  with  the  coal  seams  and  fire  clays  ^m  which  they  rest, 
and  attain  an  aggregate  thickness  of  1,200  feet  or  more  in  some 
portions  of  the  State. 

During  the  progress  of  the  geological  survey,  sixteen  different 
coal  seams  were  recognized,  ranging  from  one  to  nine  feet  in  thick- 
ness. These  have  been  numbered  consecutively  from  the  bottom 
upwards,  and  the  following  section  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  Coal 
Measures  has  been  constructed  from  the  coal  shafts  in  the  vicinity 
of  Springfield,  and  the  boring  at  Eiverton,  in  Sangamon  county,  and 
is  designed  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the  relative  position  and  range 
of  thickness  of  the  lower  coal  seams  in  Central  Ilinois,  and  the 
average  thickness  and  lithological  character  of  the  rocks  that  separate 
them: 


GENERAL   SECTION   OF   THE   LOWER   COAL   MEASURES. 


60  to  70  feet. 


80  to  95  feet. 


20  to  30  feet. 


20  to  30  feet. 


60  to  80  feet. 


60  to  70  feet. 


40  to  60  feet. 


30  to  80  feet. 


20  to  50  feet. 


I       J      J      1       1    J 

r     r    r     r     r 


Sandstone  and  shale. 
COAL  No.  8—1  to  2  feet. 

Sandstone,  shale  and  limestone. 
COAL  No.  7—1  to  9  feet. 

Sandstone,  shale  and  limestone. 
COAL  No.  6—0  to  6  feet. 
Shale  and  limestone. 

COAL  No.  5 — 4  to  6  feet. 
Sandstone  and  shale. 

COAL  No.  4—0  to  5  feet. 

Sandstone  and  shale 
COAL  No.  3—0  to  4  feet. 

Shale,  sandy  and  argillaceous. 
COAL  No.  2— 1£  to  5  feet. 

Sandstone,  shale  and  limestone. 

COAL  No.  1—1  to  5  feet. 
Sandstone  and  shale. 

Lower  Carboniferous  Limestone. 


THE   COAL   FIELD   OP   ILLINOIS.  167 

The  boring  at  Riverton  showed  the  existence  at  that  point  of 
three  workable  beds  of  coal  below  No.  5,  the  one  worked  at  the 
present  time,  each  ranging  from  4  to  5  feet  in  thickness. 

Southeastwardly  from  the  central  portion  of  the  State,  through 
the  counties  of  Macon,  Moultrie,  Christian,  Montgomery,  Shelby, 
Coles,  Cumberland,  Effingham,  Clay,  Jasper,  Wayne,  Eichland, 
Edwards,  Wabash,  Lawrence  and  Crawford,  the  upper  division  of 
the  Coal  Measures  are  the  prevailing  rocks,  and  there  are  no  coal 
beds  known  to  outcrop  near  the  surface  that  attain  a  greater  thick- 
ness than  two  or  three  feet.  All  the  seams  in  the  foregoing  section 
are  several  hundred  feet  below  the  surface  in  all  the  counties  above 
named,  and  we  must  rely  upon  careful  explorations  with  the  drill 
to  determine  whether  or  not  the  lower  seams  preserve  their  normal 
thickness  over  this  portion  of  our  coal  area.  Hence  the  importance 
of  obtaining  and  collating  all  definite  and  reliable  data  in  regard  to 
the  development  of  the  lower  coals  over  this  wide  area ;  and  as  the 
desired  information  can  be  obtained  most  economically  with  the  drill 
in  the  hands  of  competent  experts,  it  is  a  matter  of  paramount  im- 
portance to  the  complete  development  of  our  coal  interests,  that  every 
experiment  of  this  kind  should  be  accurately  made,  and  the  results 
registered  as  the  work  progressed,  so  that  we  may  be  able,  in  due  time, 
to  state  approximately  the  amount  of  fuel  that  is  obtainable  from  the 
lower  Coal  Measures  in  the  center  of  the  Illinois  coal  basin. 

The  following  approximate  section  of  the  upper  division  of  the 
Coal  Measures  has  been  constructed  from  the  detailed  surveys  of 
the  counties  above  named : 


GENEEAL   SECTION   OF   THE    UPPER   COAL   MEASUEES. 


80  to  90  feet. 


100  to  120  feet. 


75  to  90  feet. 


50  to  GO  feet. 


80  to  90  feet. 


75  to  80  feet. 


20  to  25  feet. 


30  to  40  feet. 


80  to  90  feet. 


Sandstone  and  shale. 
THIN  COAL — 6  inches. 

Sandstone,  shale  and  limestone. 

COAL  No.  16—1^  to  3  feet. 
Sandstone  and  shale. 

COAL  No.  15—1  to  3^  feet. 

Sandstone  and  shale. 
COAL  No.  14— 1£  to  2  feet. 

Sandstone  and  shale. 

COAL  No.  13—0  to  3  feet. 
Sandstone  and  shale. 

COAL  No.  12—0  to  1  foot. 
Shales  and  limestone. 

COAL  No.  11—0  to  1  foot. 
Shales. 

COAL  No.  10—0  to  1  foot. 
Sandstone,  shales  and  limestone. 

COAL  No.  9—0  to  2  feet. 
Fire  clay  and  shales. 


THE   COAL   FIELD   OF  ILLINOIS.  169 

Nos.  9,  14,  15  and  1G  of  the  above  section  range  in  thickness  from 
eighteen  inches  to  three  feet,  and  all  have  been  worked  in  a  limited 
way  along  their  line  of  outcrop. 

The  compact  limestone  over  coal  No.  9  is  a  very  persistent  bed, 
and  has  received  the  local  names  of  "Carlinville  limestone,"  "Shoal 
Creek  limestone,"  etc.,  from  its  points  of  local  outcrop.  We  have 
considered  this  the  dividing  bed  between  the  upper  and  lower  Coal 
Measures,  because  its  position  is  about  midway  between  the  base  and 
the  top  of  the  coal  formation,  and  it  can  be  much  more  readily  iden- 
tified at  widely  separated  localities  than  any  of  the  sandstones  or 
shales  with  which  it  is  associated.  On  the  eastern  borders  of  the 
State  it  outcrops  at  several  localities  in  Edgar  and  Clark  counties, 
and  the  following  species  of  fossils  may  usually  be  obtained  from  it. 
Athyris  subtilita,  Spirifer  cameratus,  S.  lineatus,  Terebratula  bovidens, 
Meekella  striato-costata,  Pleurotomaria  turbiniformis,  Lophophyllum  pro- 
liferum,  Campophyllum  torquium,  and  some  other  less  conspicuous 
forms.  Wherever  this  limestone  occurs,  it  forms  a  reliable  horizon 
for  determining  the  relative  position  of  the  main  coal  seams,  and 
their  probable  depth  beneath  the  surface.  Coal  No.  9,  which  under- 
lies it,  is  variable  in  thickness,  and  is  sometimes  replaced  by  bitu- 
minous shale.  In  the  vicinity  of  Highland,  in  Madison  county,  this 
seam  ranges  from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet  in  thickness,  and  was 
opened  at  an  early  day  for  the  local  supply  of  the  town  and  vicinity 
with  coal,  but,  since  the  opening  of  the  lower  seams,  the  work  on 
this  has  been  generally  abandoned. 

The  only  seams  above  this  that  have  been  worked  to  any  consid- 
erable extent  are  Nos.  14,  15  and  16.  No.  14  is  known  locally  as 
the  "Pana  coal,"  and  outcrops  on  Coal  creek,  a  few  miles  south  of 
Pana,  where  the  seam  is  from  16  to  22  inches  thick,  and  affords  a 
coal  of  good  quality.  On  Beck's  creek,  in  Shelby  county,  the  same 
seam  outcrops,  and  has  been  worked  in  a  limited  way  to  supply  the 
surrounding  country. 

No.  15  is  the  "Shelby  coal,"  which  varies  in  thickness  from  eighteen 
inches  to  three  feet,  and  has  been  opened  at  various  points  in  the 
vicinity  of  Shelby ville,  where  it  affords  a  coal  of  good  quality. 

Coal  No.  16  is  known  as  "Nelson's  coal,"  in  Effingham  county, 
which  is  reported  to  'be  three  feet  thick  at  Mr.  Nelson's  place,  where 
the  principal  mining  on  this  seam  has  been  done.  These  upper 
seams  are  worked  only  on  the  outcrops,  or  near  by,  where  the  coal 
can  be  reached  at  50  to  75  feet  below  the  surface. 

But  little  is  known  at  this  time  in  regard  to  the  earliest  experi- 
ments in  coal  mining  in  this  State,  or  the  exact  locality  where  the 


170  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

first  mine  was  opened.  The  first  discovery  of  coal  in  the  Unitep 
States,  recorded  in  history,  was  made  in  Illinois.  As  early  as  1669, 
more  than  two  centuries  ago,  Father  Hennepin,  one  of  the  earliest 
explorers  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  mentions  the  discovery  of  coal  in 
the  valley  of  the  Illinois  river,  not  far  from  where  the  city  of  Ottawa 
is  now  situated,  but  it  is  not  probable  that  any  mines  were  opened 
there  until  long -after  coal  mining  was  commenced  in  Southern  Illi- 
nois. 

The  first  coal  mining  operations  of  which  we  have  any  record  were 
in  1810,  on  the  Big  Muddy  river,  in  Jackson  county,  where  a  flat- 
boat  load  of  coal  was  mined  and  sent  to  the  New  Orleans  market. 

In  1822,  Joseph  Duncan,  afterwards  elected  Governor  of  the  State, 
loaded  several  boats  at  the  Big  Muddy  mines  for  the  same  market. 
These  seem  to  be  the  first  recorded  experiments  in  mining  coal  for 
shipment  to  a  foreign  market  from  this  State.  According  to  Peck's 
Gazetteer  of  Illinois,  page  22,  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  bushels 
were  mined  in  St.  Glair  county  in  1833,  and  hauled  in  wagons  across 
the  Illinois  bottom  to  St.  Louis. 

The  Big  Muddy  mines  are  located  on  coal  seam  No.  2  of  the  gen- 
eral section,  which  crops  out  in  the  bluffs  of  that  stream  in  the 
vicinity  of  Murphysboro,  and  were  first  worked  by  tunneling  into  the 
face  of  the  seam  along  the  outcrop.  This  seam  is  thicker  in  this 
county  than  it  has  been  found  elsewhere,  attaining  a  thickness  of 
about  five  feet,  though  it  is  here  a  double  seam,  the  two  divisions 
being  separated  by  a  few  inches  of  clay  shale.  It  is  the  same  coal 
worked  at  Colchester,  in  McDonough  county,  and  at  various  points 
in  Grundy  and  the  northwest  border  of  Kankakee  counties,  for  the 
supply  of  the  northern  portions  of  the  State.  It  is  characterized  at 
all  these  localities  by  the  presence  of  kidney-shaped  nodules  of  argil- 
laceous iron  ore  in  the  roof  shales,  enclosing  leaves  and  stems  of 
ferns,  and  other  plants,  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation.  The  shales 
themselves,  immediately  above  the  coal,  are  also  often  filled  with 
ferns,  in  a  finely  preserved  condition,  affording  many  choice  varieties 
to  enrich  the  cabinets  of  the  naturalist. 

Coal  No.  1  is  generally  too  thin  to  be  worked  to  advantage,  except 
at  a  few  points  about  to  be  mentioned.  In  Eock  Island  county,  it 
ranges  from  three  to  five  feet  in  thickness,  and  has  been  worked  for 
the  past  twenty-five  years  or  more.  The  coal  of  Coal  Valley  has  fur- 
nished the  main  supply  for  the  city  of  Rock  Island,  and  the  river 
towns  above,  for  many  years.  This  coal  is  generally  overlaid,  in  this 
county,  by  bituminous  shale,  enclosing  a  layer  of  dark  colored  chert 
from  six  to  eighteen  inches  thick.  At  Seaville,  on  Spoon  river,  in 


THE   COAL   FIELD   OF  ILLINOIS.  171 

Fulton  county,  this  coal  is  about  three  feet  in  thickness,  and  of  good 
quality.  At  Battery  Rock,  in  Hardin  county,  it  was  opened  at  an 
early  day  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Ohio  river,  but  being  only  from  eighteen 
to  twenty-two  inches  in  thickness,  it  was  soon  abandoned  after  the 
thicker  seams  on  the  Saline  river  were  opened. 

In  the  counties  of  Saline  and  Gallatin  the  entire  thickness  of  the 
lower  measures  is  exposed,  but  only  coals  Nos.  5  and  7  are  usually 
of  sufficient  thickness  here  to  be  worked  to  advantage.  The  mines 
on  the  Saline  river,  where  the  coals  outcrop,  were  opened  at  an  early 
day,  the  product  being  used  in  part  in  evaporating  the  brine  obtained 
from  the  salt  wells,  and  in  part  for  supplying  the  towns  below,  and  the 
steamers  on  the  lower  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  rivers.  The  Inde- 
pendent Coal  Company  work  coals  Nos.  2  and  3  in  their  shaft,  the 
former  being  four  feet  and  the  latter  three  feet  in  thickness. 

At  the  Bowlesville  mines,  coals  Nos.  5,  6  and  7  are  represented  in 
their  shaft,  but  No.  6  is  too  thin  to  be  worked  to  advantage  at  the 
present  time.  No.  7,  at  its  outcrop  near  Equality,  has  three  feet  of 
hard  argillaceous  limestone  above  it,  which  is  separated  from  the  coal 
by  three  feet  of  hard  bituminous  slaty  shale,  which  forms  an  excellent 
roof.  The  following  section  illustrates  the  character  of  the  lower  Coal 
Measures  in  this  portion  of  the  State,  and  shows  the  variation  in 
thickness  as  well  as  the  lithological  character  of  the  rocks  with 
which  the  lower  coal  seams  are  associated.  The  conglomerate  sand- 
stone which  forms  the  base  of  the  section  attains  a  much  greater 
thickness  in  this  portion  of  the  State  than  at  points  further  north, 
and  indeed  at  many  points  in  Northern  Illinois  it  is  altogether 
wanting.  Locally,  it  contains  thin  seams  of  coal  in  Southern  Illi- 
nois, but  they  are  usually  too  thin  to  be  of  any  economical  import- 
ance. This  sandstone  may  always  be  relied  on  for  determining  the 
lower  limit  of  the  productive  Coal  Measures. 


SECTION   OF   THE   LOWEK   COAL   MEASURES   IN   SALINE   AND   GALLATIN 

COUNTIES. 


8  to  10  feet. 


30  to  40  feet. 


40  to  50  feet. 


40  feet. 


65  to  70  feet. 


80  to  90  feet. 


85  to  90  feet. 


25  to  30  feet. 


130  to  140  feet. 


150  to  180  feet. 


Limestone  and  shale. 
COAL  No.  9 — 6  inches. 

Shale. 

COAL  No.  8—3  feet. 

Sandstone,  shale  and  limestone. 
COAL  No.  7—5  to  7  feet. 

Sandstone  and  shale. 

COAL  No.  6 — 2  feet,  6  inches. 

Sandstone  and  shale. 
COAL  No.  5 — 5  feet. 

Sandstone  and  shale. 

COAL  No.  4 — 2  feet,  6  inches. 

Sandstone  and  shale. 
COAL  No.  3—3  feet. 

Sandstone  and  shale. 
COAL  No.  2—4  feet. 

Sandstone  and  shale. 
COAL  No.  1— 1    to  3  feet. 


Conglomerate  sandstone. 

(Eesting  upon  the  Chester  limestone.) 


THE    COAL   FIELD   OF   ILLINOIS.  173 

From  Gallatin  county  northward,  along  the  valley  of  the  Wabash 
river,  no  important  mines  have  been  opened  in  this  State  south  of 
Vermilion  county,  and  the  borings  made  at  different  points  have  not 
shown  the  existence  of  workable  beds  of  coal  within  easy  reach  of  the 
surface  at  any  of  the  localities  where  the  experiments  have  been 
made. 

There  is,  therefore,  a  considerable  area  in  the  southeastern  portion 
of  the  State  where  the  coal  is  wanting,  or  the  borings  made  have 
failed  to  show  its  presence,  either  because  they  were  not  carried 
deep  enough  to  reach  it,  or  were  conducted  in  so  careless  and 
unskillful  a  manner  as  to  afford  no  accurate  knowledge  of  the  true 
character  of  the  strata  passed  through  by  the  drill.  For  the  present 
I  am  inclined  to  impute  this  failure  to  the  lack  of  thorough  work 
in  prospecting  for  coal  in  this  portion  of  the  State,  and  to  believe 
that  future  and  more  carefully  conducted  experiments  with  the  drill 
will  show  that  coal  may  be  found  over  the  greater  portion,  if  not 
the  whole  of  the  area  known  to  be  covered  by  the  upper  division  of 
the  Coal  Measures. 

Coal  No.  7  outcrops  in  the  vicinity  of  Danville,  in  Vermilion 
county,  and  has  been  extensively  worked  for  many  years.  It  ranges 
from  four  to  seven  feet  in  thickness,  with  a  roof  of  pyritiferous 
shale.  The  coal  at  this  point  contains  rather  more  than  the  usual 
amount  of  pyrite,  but  otherwise  is  of  fair  quality.  According  to  the 
observations  of  Prof.  F.  H.  BRADLEY,  who  made  the  detailed  examin- 
ation of  Vermilion  county,  coal  No.  5  outcrops  near  Georgetown  and 
on  Grape  Creek,  where  it  ranges  from  five  to  seven  feet  in  thick- 
ness, and  affords  a  coal  in  some  respects  superior  to  the  Danville 
coal.  It  has  a  clay  parting  about  four  feet  from  the  top  of  the 
seam  on  Grape  creek,  and  the  lower  division  of  the  seam  appears 
to  be  sufficiently  free  from  sulphur  to  be  used  in  a  raw  state  for 
smelting  iron.  The  whole  seam  contains  much  less  sulphur  than 
the  Danville  seam,  and  the  coal  is  preferred  for  domestic  use.  None 
of  the  seams  below  No.  5  have  been  found  sufficiently  developed  in 
this  section  of  the  State  to  be  of  any  value  for  practical  mining 
operations. 

In  LaSalle  county,  on  the  northern  borders  of  the  Illinois  coal 
field,  Nos.  2,  5  and  7  have  been  worked  at  different  times,  though 
the  two  latter  are  the  most  important.  No.  2  ranges  from  3  to  4 
feet  in  thickness ;  No.  5,  from  5  to  6  feet,  and  No.  7,  from  4£  to  6 
feet.  Nos.  1  and  6  seem  to  be  wanting  in  the  LaSalle  section,  but 
Nos.  9,  12  and  13  are  present  and  represented  by  thin  coals  from 
six  to  twelve  inches  in  thickness.  The  following  approximate  section 


174 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


will  show  the  relative  position  and  thickness  of  the  workable  coals 
in  LaSalle  county.  This  section  has  been  constructed  from  the 
outcrops  at  LaSalle  and  the  shafts  that  have  been  sunk  through 
the  lower  Coal  Measures  at  that  point. 


3  to  4  feet. 


18  to  20  feet. 


55  to  60  feet. 


160  to  170  feet. 


65  feet. 


154  feet. 


25  feet. 


Shaly  Clay. 

COAL  No.  13—1  foot. 

Shale  and  limestone. 

COAL  No.  12—1  foot. 
Limestone  and  shale. 

COAL  No.  9 — 6  inches. 


Sandstone,  limestone  and  shale,  with   i-inch 
Coal. 


COAL  No.  7— 1£  to  5  feet. 
Sandstone  and  shale. 

COAL  No.  5 — 4  to  6  feet. 


Sandstone  and  shale. 

; 

COAL  No.  2—3  to  4  feet. 
Sandstone  and  shale. 

(Besting  on  Silurian  strata.) 


In  Peoria  county,  coals  Nos.  5  and  6  outcrop  in  the  bluffs  of  Kicka- 
poo  creek,  and  of  the  Illinois  river,  south  of  Peoria,  and  No.  5  is 
extensively  mined  for  the  supply  of  the  city  and  adjacent  region. 
This  coal  seam  was  numbered  as  coal  No.  4  in  the  report  on  Peoria 
county  (Geological  Survey,  vol.  5,  page  238),  but  it  is  probably  iden- 


THE    COAL   FIELD   OF    ILLINOIS.  175 

tical  with  No.  5  of  the  general  section.  It  averages  about  5  feet  in 
thickness,  and  affords  a  fair  quality  of  coal,  though  inferior  to  that 
obtained  from  No.  6,  which  is  usually  thinner,  ranging  from  3  to 
5  feet,  and  quite  free  from  sulphur.  This  latter  seam  is,  however, 
quite  irregular  in  its  development,  and  is,  therefore,  generally  neglected, 
except  where  a  superior  quality  of  coal  is  required  for  the  use  of  the 
blacksmith. 

In  Fulton  county,  all  the  seams  of  the  lower  measures,  except, 
perhaps,  No.  1,  outcrop  on  Spoon  river  and  its  tributaries ;  but  Nos. 
1,  5  and  6  are  the  only  ones  that  have  been  worked  to  any  extent, 
or  that  promise  to  be  of  any  considerable  value  for  future  operations. 
No.  1  is  mined  at  Seaville,  on  the  west  side  of  Spoon  river,  where 
it  averages  about  3  feet  in  thickness,  affording  a  good  quality  of  coal. 
Further  down  the  river  it  dwindles  to  a  thickness  of  1  foot  or  less. 
Nos.  5  and  6  are  worked  at  Canton  and  Cuba,  where  they  are  from 
4  to  5  feet  in  thickness.  No.  7  ranges  from  1£  to  3  feet  in  this 
county,  but  has  not  been  worked,  except  in  a  limited  way. 

Along  the  Alton  and  Chicago  railroad,  from  Bloomington  to  Car- 
linville,  a  distance  of  about  100  miles,  coal  No.  5  has  been  found  at 
every  point  where  a  boring  or  shaft  has  been  carried  down  to  the 
proper  level.  The  South  Shaft  at  Bloomington  has  been  sunk  to  one 
of  the  lower  seams,  probably  No.  2  or  3  of  the  general  section,  which 
was  found  to  be  3£  feet  in  thickness,  and  afforded  a  better  quality 
of  coal  than  that  of  No.  5. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Springfield,  No.  5  is  reached  at  a  depth  of  175  to 
250  feet,  and  the  coal  averages  about  6  feet  in  thickness,  with  a  good 
roof  of  bituminous  shale  and  limestone.  At  Virden,  it  is  320  feet 
below  the  surface,  and  at  Carlinville  266  feet. 

At  Alton  a  lower  seam  is  worked,  that  probably  is  the  equivalent 
of  No.  1  of  the  general  section,  as  its  position  is  very  near  the  bot- 
tom of  the  Coal  Measures.  It  is  about  3  feet  thick,  and  affords  a 
coal  of  fair  quality.  At  Edwardsville,  and  on  Wood  river,  southeast  of 
Alton,  the  seam  known  in  this  portion  of  the  State  as  the  Belleville 
coal,  is  reached  by  shafts  of  75  to  100  feet  in  depth.  This  coal  is 
No.  5  or  6  of  the  general  section.  It  outcrops  at  Belleville,  in  St. 
Clair  county,  and  along  the  bluffs,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Illinois 
bottom,  from  Caseyville  to  the  old  Pittsburg  mines,  southeast  of  St. 
Louis,  and  has  been  penetrated  by  shafts  from  the  highlands  in 
various  parts  of  the  county.  The  fossils  .that  characterize  its  roof- 
shales  are  different  from  those  usually  most  abundant  in  the  roof 
of  No.  5,  and  for  that  reason  I  have  been  disposed  to  consider  it 
the  equivalent  of  No.  6  of  the  general  section.  If  this  conclusion  is 


176  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

correct,  the  lower  seams,  except  the  seam  at  Alton,  are  not  repre- 
sented in  Madison  or  St.  Clair  counties,  so  far  as  is  known  at  this 
time. 

The  Belleville  coal  outcrops  at  Sparta,  in  Kandolph  county,  and 
near  Pinckneyville,  in  Perry  county,  and  is  penetrated  by  shafts 
from  50  to  75  feet  in  depth  at  Duquoin  and  St.  Johns,  on  the  Illi- 
nois Central  railroad. 

This  brief  review  of  the  general  distribution  of  the  main  coals  of 
the  lower  Coal  Measures,  around  the  northern,  western  and  southern 
borders  of  the  Illinois  Coal  Field,  will  afford  a  general  idea  of  the 
extent  and  value  of  these  fuel  deposits,  where  they  are  so  near  the 
surface  as  to  be  easily  accessible;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  paramount 
interest  to  the  future  prosperity  of  that  portion  of  the  State,  where 
the  main  coals,  *if  developed  at  all,  are  from  500  to  1,000  feet  or 
more  below  the  surface,  that  careful  experiments  should  be  made 
with  the  drill,  to  determine  their  existence  if  possible,  so  that  they 
may  be  made  available  hereafter,  when  the  demand  for  coal  will 
justify  the  outlay  of  the  capital  required  to  reach  it  at  greater 
depths.  Hence  it  is  all  important  that  every  boring  made  through 
the  upper  Coal  Measures  should  be  extended  down  to  the  bottom  of 
the  coal  formation,  if  a  workable  seam  was  not  sooner  reached,  and 
the  work  should  in  all  cases  be  placed  in  charge  of  thoroughly 
competent  and  reliable  persons,  so  that  a  thorough  knowledge  may 
be  obtained  in  regard  to  the  development  of  the  lower  coals  over  the 
whole  area  of  our  extensive  coal  field.  The  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  a  seam  of  coal  five  feet  in  thickness  can  be  profitably  mined 
at  a  depth  of  a  thousand  feet  or  more,  as  is  now  done  in  Great 
Britain.  There  is  no  mineral  resource  of  our  State  that  possesses 
a  tithe  of  the  value  of  our  coal  mines,  and  nothing  should  be  left 
undone  that  will  tend  to  their  full  and  complete  development. 

Although  coal  is  by  far  the  most  valuable  product  of  the  Coal 
Measures,  it  is  by  no  means  the  only  one  to  be  found  in  that 
formation.  Excellent  free-stone  abounds  in  it  at  many  localities, 
and  coarse  grit-stone  suitable  for  grindstones,  and  refractory  sand- 
stones for  furnace  hearths ;  fire-clay  and  potter's-clays  of  various 
qualities,  and  limestones  adapted  to  the  various  uses  to  which  such 
material  is  applied.  The  stone  for  the  old  capitol  building  was 
obtained  from  a  Coal  Measure  limestone  on  Sugar  Creek,  seven 
miles  south  of  Springfield ;  and  a  bed  of*  limestone  lower  down  in 
the  series,  which  outcrops  south  of  Petersburg,  in  Menard  county, 
affords  layers  that  take  a  good  polish,  and  may  be  used  as  an 


THE    COAL   FIELDS    OF    ILLINOIS.  177 

ornamental  stone.  There  are  but  few  counties  within-  the  area  of 
our  coal  field  where  valuable  quarries  of  building  stone  may  not  be 
found. 

Iron  ore  also  abounds  in  this  formation,  and  although  the  bands 
or  seams  are  generally  thin,  yet  there  are  some  localities  where  the 
variety  known  as  "  kidney  ore  "  is  quite  abundant,  and  will  no  doubt 
be  utilized  for  the  production  of  iron  and  steel  at  no  distant  day. 

These  useful  minerals  add  greatly  to  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of 
the  commonwealth  by  diversifying  labor,  and  thus  enhancing  the 
value  of  the  products  of  the  soil.  There  is  no  other  geological 
formation  in  this  State  that  can  for  a  moment  be  considered  com- 
parable with  the  Coal  Measures  in  the  intrinsic  value  of  its  econom- 
ical products,  and  the  wide  area  which  it  covers  renders  these 
valuable  mineral  resources  available  over  a  large  portion  of  the 
State,  without  the  cost  of  extended  lines  of  transportation. 


-12 


CHAPTER     VII. 

ON  THE   OKIGIN  AND  FOEMATION   OF   PRAIRIES. 
BY  PROF.  LEO  LESQUEREUX. 


The  question  of  the  formation  of  the  Prairies,  after  a  long  time 
of  repose,  has  lately  come  again  under  examination,  and  has  been 
reviewed,  first,  by  myself,  in  1856,  then  by  Professor  WHITNEY,  in 
the  first  chapter  of  the  Report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Iowa,  and 
more  recently  by  Professor  WINCHELL,  in  Silliman's  Journal  (2),  vol- 
ume 38,  page  332.  As  this  question  is  of  great  importance  for  the 
State  of  Illinois,  and  a  clear  understanding  of  it  may  give  valuable 
indications  for  the  best  management  and  cultivation  of  the  soil  of 
the  prairies,  I  have,  by  direction  of  the  State  Geologist,  prepared 
for  this  Report  a  short  account  of  what  I  have  formerly  published 
on  this  subject.* 

Prairies  are,  at  our  time,  in  process  of  formation  along  the  shores 
of  our  lakes, — Lake  Michigan,  Lake  Erie,  etc., — as  also  along  the 
Mississippi  and  some  of  its  affluents,  especially  the  Minnesota  river. 
The  formation  of  these  recent  prairies,  whose  extent  is  not  compar- 
able to  that  of  the  primitive  ones,  is  peculiar,  and  has  the  greatest 
analogy  with  that  of  the  peat  bogs.  Where  the  lake  wears  or  cur- 
rents strike  the  shores  or  the  low  grounds,  and  there  heap  materials, 
—sand,  pebbles,  mud,  etc., — they  build  up  more  or  less  elevated  dams 
or  islands,  which  soon  became  covered  with  trees.  These  dams  are 
not  always  built  along  the  shores ;  they  do  not  even  always  follow 
their  outline,  but  often  enclose  wide,  shallow  basins,  whose  waters 
are  thus  sheltered  against  any  movement.  Here,  the  aquatic  plants, 
sedges,  rushes,  grasses,  etc.,  soon  appear,  these  basins  become  swamps, 

*  Bulletin  de  la  Soc.  des  Sci.  Nat.  de  Jfeuclatel  (1857),  Silliman's  Journal,  volume  2. 


OKIGIN   AND   FORMATION   OF   THE   PRAIRIES.  179 

and,  as  it  can  be  seen  near  the  borders  of  Lake  Michigan,  though 
the  waters  may  surround  them,  the  trees  never  invade  them,  never 
grow  upon  them,  even  when  the  swamps  become  drained  by  some 
natural  or  artificial  cause.  Along  the  Mississippi  and  the  Minnesota 
rivers  the  same  phenomenon  is  observable,  with  a  difference  only  in 
the  process  of  operation.  In  time  of  flood  the  heaviest  particles  of 
mud  are  deposited  on  both  sides  of  the  principal  current,  along  the 
line  of  slack-water,  ;md,  by  repeated  deposits,  dams  are  slowly 
formed  and  upraised  above  the  general  surface  of  the  bottom  land. 
Thus,  after  a  time,  of  course,  the  water  thrown  on  the  bottoms  by 
a  flood  is,  at  its  subsidence,  shut  out  from  the  river,  and  both  sides 
of  it  are  converted  into  swamps,  sometimes  of  great  extent.  Seen 
from  the  high  bluffs  bordering  ite  bottom  land,  the  bed  of  the  Min- 
nesota river  is,  in  the  spring,  marked  for  miles  by  two  narrow  strips 
of  timbered  land,  bordering  the  true  channel  of  the  river,  and  emerg- 
ing like  fringes  in  the  middle  of  a  long,  continuous,  narrow  lake.  In 
the  summer,  and  viewed  from  the  same  point,  the  same  bottoms  are 
transformed  into  a  green  plain,  whose  undulating  surface  looks  like 
immense  fields  of  unripe  wheat,  but  forms,  in  truth,  impassable  swamps, 
covered  with  rushes,  sedges,  etc.  By  successive  inundations  and  their 
deposits  of  mud,  and  by  the  heaping  of  the  detritus  of  their  luxuriant 
herbaceous  vegetation,  they  become,  by  and  by,  raised  up  above  the  level 
of  the  river.  They  then  dry  up  in  the  summer,  mostly  by  infiltration 
and  evaporation,  and  when  out  of  reach  of  floods,  they  become  first 
wet  and  afterwards  dry  prairies.*  In  that  way  admirable  locations  for 
river  towns  have  been  built  up.  On  the  Mississippi,  Prairie  du 
Chein,  Prairie  la  Fourche,  Prairie  la  Crosse,  etc.,  are,  as  indicated 
by  their  names,  infant  towns  located  on  formations  of  this  kind. 
These  splendid  patches  of  prairies,  though  of  a  far  more  recent 
origin  than  the  immense  plains  above  them,  are,  nevertheless,  true 
prairies.  Bordered  on  one  side  by  the  high,  timbered  banks  of  the 
bottoms,  a  fringe  of  trees  separates  them  still  from  the  actual  bed 
of  the  river ;  nevertheless,  the  trees  do  not  invade  them. 

This  peculiarity  of  formation  explains,  first,  the  peculiar  nature  of 
the  soil  of  the  prairies.  It  is  neither  peat  nor  hnmas,  but  a  black 
soft  mould,  impregnated  with  a  large  proportion  of  ulmic  acid,  pro- 
duced by  the  slow  decomposition,  mostly  under  water,  of  aquatic 
plants,  and  thus  partaking  as  much  of  the  nature  of  the  peat  as 

*The  lowest  or  deepest  part  of  these  alluvial  prairies  is,  of  course,  farthest  from  the 
river,  along  the  bluffs.  There,  generally,  the  percolation  of  water  through  the  banks 
forms  springs  and  deep  swamps  often  transformed  into  peat  bogs. 


180  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

that  of  the  true  humas.  In  all  the  depressions  of  the  prairies,  where 
water  is  permanent  and  unmixed  with  particles  of  mineral  matter, 
the  ground  is  true  peat. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  trees  cannot  grow  on  such  kind  of 
ground.  The  germination  of  seeds  of  arborescent  plants  needs  the 
free  access  of  oxygen,  for  their  development ;  and  the  trees,  especially 
in  their  youth,  absorb  by  the  roots  a  great  amount  of  air,  and 
demand  a  solid  point  -of  attachment  to  fix  themselves.  Moreover, 
the  acid  of  this  kind  of  soil,  by  its  particularly  antiseptic  property, 
promotes  the  vegetation  of  a  peculiar  group  of  plants,  mostly  herb- 
aceous. Of  all  our  trees,  the  Tamarac  is  the  only  species  which,  in 
our  northern  climate,  can  grow  on  a  peaty  ground ;  and  this,  even, 
happens  only  under  rare  and  favorable  circumstances — that  is,  when 
stagnant  water,  remaining  at  a  constant  level,  has  been  invaded  by 
a  kind  of  mosses,  the  Sphagnum.  By  their  power  of  absorption, 
their  continuous  growth  and  the  rapid  accumulation  of  their  remains, 
these  mosses  slowly  raise  the  surface  of  the  bogs  above  water,  and 
it  is  then,  in  this  loose  ground,  constantly  humid  but  accessible  to 
atmospheric  action,  that  the  Tamarac  appears. 

Now,  let  us  examine  the  prairies  according  to  this  idea  of  their 
formation,  and  see  if,  from  the  first  trace  of  their  origin  to  their 
perfect  completeness,  there  is  anything  in  their  local  or  general 
appearance  that  is  not  explained  by  it,  or  does  not  agree  with  it. 

The  Bay  of  Sandusky  is  now  in  process  of  transformation  to 
prairies,  and  is  already  sheltered  against  the  violent  action  of  the 
lake  by  a  chain  of  low  islands  and  sand-banks,  most  of  them  cov- 
ered with  trees  for  a  long  time — at  least,  judging  from  the  size  of 
the  trees.  All  these  islands  are  built  up  with  the  same  kind  of 
materials,  shales,  with  lacustrine  deposits,  either  moulded  into  low 
ridges  under  water,  or  brought  up  and  heaped  by  waves  and  currents. 
Around  the  bay,  especially  to  the  southwest,  there  are  extensive 
plains,  covered  with  shallow  water.  Their  bottom,  in  the  depressions 
towards  the  lake,  and  when  the  aquatic  vegetation  is  only  at  its 
origin,  is  sandy  clay.  But  in  more  shallow  places,  the  clay  is  already 
muddy  and  blackened  at  its  surface  by  the  detritus  of  the  herbaceous 
vegetation  which  has  grown  upon  it.  Further  towards  the  borders, 
and  in  proportion  to  the  shallowness  of  water,  the  detritus  thickens ; 
and  still  further,  we  have  wet  prairies  with  exactly  the  same  vegeta- 
tion as  that  of  the  lake  swamps,  and  a  black  soil  with  a  substratum 
of  clay;  same  materials  also  as  those  of  both  the  deeper  and  the 
more  shallow  swamps  of  the'  lake. 


ORIGIN   AND    FORMATION    OF    THE    PRAIRIES.  181 

In  receding  from  the  borders  of  the  lakes  towards  the  high  prairies, 
the  transition  from  wet  to  dry  prairies  is  by  such  insensible  degrees 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  fix  a  point  of  separation  between  them. 
All  the  surface  appearances  are  the  same.  Vegetation  is  here  and 
there  modified  by  the  presence  of  some  peculiar  species  of  herba- 
ceous plants ;  but  nothing  more.  The  homogeneousness  of  the  soil 
is  still  more  striking.  It  is  the  same  kind  of  clay,  or  sub-soil,  over- 
laid by  the  same  kind  of  black,  spongy  mould.  And  if  here  and 
there  we  see  knolls  covered  with  trees,  the  cuts  of  the  railroads  show 
that  the  materials  of  which  they  are  made  differ  in  their  compound 
from  the  ground  of  the  prairies,  even  if  they  are  scarcely  elevated 
above  the  general  level,  and  that  they  are  of  the  same  nature  and 
of  a  similar  formation  to  those  of  the  wooded,  low  islands  of  the 
lakes. 

Reporting  now  our  observations  on  the  numerous  lakes  which  dot 
the  high  rolling  prairies,  especially  in  Western  Minnesota,  we  see 
there  the  process  of  formation  of  the  prairies  still  repeated  in  the 
same  way.  These  lakes  are  of  every  size ;  small  sometimes,  and  cir- 
cular, true  ponds ;  as  large  sometimes,  also,  as  thirty  to  forty  miles 
in  circumference,  and  in  this  case,  shaping  the  outlines  of  their  shores 
according  to  the  undulations  of  the  prairies ;  dividing  into  innumer- 
able shallow  branches,  mere  swamps  covered  with  water  plants,  and 
emptying  themselves  from  the  one  to  the  other,  passing  thus  by  slow 
degrees  toward  the  rivers,  not  by  well  marked  channels,  but  by  a  suc- 
cession of  extensive  swamps.  These  are  the  sloughs  which  separate 
the  knolls  of  the  prairies,  or,  so  to  say,  the  low  grounds  of  the  roll-, 
ing  prairies.  They  are  nearly  dry  in  summer,  but  covered  in  the 
spring  time  by  one  to  three  feet  of  water.  Their  vegetation  is  merely 
sedges  and  coarse  grasses.  I  have  never  seen  fishes  in  these  sloughs, 
but  plenty  of  craw-fishes,  and  a  great  quantity  of  fresh  water  shells.* 
Wherever  the  borders  of  the  lakes  are  well  shaped,  not  confounded 
with  or  passing  into  swamps,  they  rise  from  five  to  six  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  water,  and  are  timbered  mostly  with  Oak  and  Hickory. 
This  elevated  margin  is  more  generally  marked  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  lakes;  a  record  of  the  action  of  the  waves  under  the  prevailing 
winds.  The  heaped  materials  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  bottoms 
of  the  swamps,  or  as  those  over  which  the  prairies  have  been  formed. 
But  they  have  been  removed  from  the  influence  of  stagnant  water; 
that  is  the  only  difference. 

*  Especially  Planorlis  triraloris,  P.  lentus,  Lymntea  appressa,  L.  emarginata,  L.  decid- 
iosa,  etc.  The  lakes  have  the  same  species,  with  many  bivalves,  and  a  great  abundance 
of  fishes,  especially  cat-fishes,  Pimelodus. 


182  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

From  these  facts  no  other  conclusion  can  be  taken  than  this :  that 
all  the  prairies  of  the  Mississippi  valley  have  been  formed  by  the 
slow  recess  of  sheets  of  water  of  various  extent,  first  transformed  into 
swamps,  and  by  and  by  drained  and  dried.  The  high  and  rolling 
prairies,  the  prairies  around  the  lakes,  those  of  the  bottoms  along 
the  rivers,  are  all  the  result  of  the  same  cause,  and  form  a  whole, 
an  indivisible  system.* 

But  how  is  it,  then,  that  the  prairies  are  not  everywhere  perfectly 
horizontal  ?  And,  as  there  is  some  uneavenness  of  surface,  have  not 
the  undulations  of  the  rolling  prairies  been  formed  like  the  low 
islands  of  the  lakes?  And  why,  then,  are  they  not  timbered?  I 
believe  that,  though  undulated  the  surface  of  the  prairies  may  be  now, 
it  has  been  originally  horizontal  enough  to  form  shallow  lakes,  and 
then  swamps,  like  those  which  now  cover  some  parts  along  the  shores 
of  Lake  Erie,  Lake  Michigan,  etc.  Where  this  horizontality  has  dis- 
appeared, it  is  only  by  very  slow  degrees,  under  the  erosive  action 
of  the  water  in  its  slow  movement,  to  follow  every  change  of  level, 
seek  an  outlet,  and  thus  to  establish  channels*  of  drainage.  I  have 
followed,  for  whole  days,  the  sloughs  of  the  prairies,  and  have  seen 
them  constantly  passing  to  lower  and  well  marked  channels,  or  to  the 
beds  of  the  rivers,  by  the  most  tortuous  circuits,  in  a  manner  com- 
parable to  the  meanderings  of  some  creeks  in  nearly  horizontal  val- 
leys. Indeed,  the  only  difference  is,  that  in  the  high  prairies  there 
is  not  a  definite  bed,  but  a  series  of  swamps,  extending,  narrowing, 
winding,  in  many  ways.  This  explanation  appears  to  me  so  natural 
that  I  could  not  understand  how  high  prairies  could  be  perfectly 
horizontal.  Along  the  lakes,  and  in  their  vicinity,  the  horizontality 
is  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  primitive  evenness  of  the  bottom, 
and  of  the  proximity  to  water.  The  level  of  the  low  prairies  being 
scarcely  above  that  of  the  lakes,  their  surface,  after  an  overflow, 
becomes  dry  by  percolation  and  evaporation,  rather  than  by  true 
drainage.  But  wherever  the  rivers  have  cut  deeper  channels,  as  is 
the  case  in  the  north  part  of  the  Mississippi  basin,  where  they  run 
sometimes  from  one  to  three  hundred  feet  lower  than  the  surface  of 
the  high  prairies,  the  drainage  has  constantly  taken  place  towards 
those  deiep  channels,  and  the  water,  though  its  movements  may  be 
very  slow,  furrows  the  surface  in  its  tortuous  meanders,  and  from 
this  results  that  irregular  wavy  conformation  of  surface,  generally  and 

*  ATWATER,  in  Silliman's  Journal,  volume  1,  page  116,  and  BOURNE,  ibid,  volume  2,  page 
30,  have  both  considered  the  prairies  as  originating  from  swamps,  without,  however, 
giving  an  explanation  of  the  phenomenon. 


ORIGIN   AND   FORMATION   OF   THE   PRAIRIES.  183 

appropriately  called  rolling.  In  Indiana  and  Illinois,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Wabash  river,  for  example,  there  are  some  high  prairies,  as 
at  Terre  Haute,  surrounded  by  a  margin  of  low  wooded  hills,  which 
have  been  originally  shallow  lakes  of  difficult  and  slow  drainage. 
Moreover,  their  horizontally  is  rather  apparent  than  absolute.  Some 
parts  of  them  are  already  dry  enough  to  be  plowed  and  cultivated  in 
the  spring ;  some  other  parts  are  used  as  wet  meadows,  while  others 
are  covered  with  water,  and  inaccessible.  This  apparent  horizontality 
results  from  the  great  width  of  what  we  may  call  already  channels 
of  drainage.  These  will,  by  and  by,  contract  and  deepen,  and  thus 
the  prairies  become  undulating. 

Contrary  to  this  opinion,  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  irregulari- 
ties of  the  surface  of  the  prairies  have  been  caused  by  currents  at 
the  time  they  were  under  water,  for  it  is  said,  the  spaces  between 
the  knolls  are  not  deep  and  narrow  sloughs,  or  simple  trenches,  but 
broad  depressions,  broader  than  the  knolls  themselves,  and  this 
could  not  be  the  case  if  they  had  been  formed  by  erosion  of  water.* 

This  objection,  I  think,  is  groundless.  As  we  have  seen  it,  in  con- 
sidering the  surface  of  the  low  and  of  the  flat  prairies,  the  drainage 
being  insensible,  water  cannot  have  any  action  in  digging  trenches. 
In  the  spring,  or  after  heavy  rains,  its  slow  movements  extend  over 
the  whole  breadth  of  the  low  grounds,  scarcely  displacing  and  taking 
away  the  thinnest  parcels  of  matter.  This  cannot  be  considered  as 
an  erosion ;  nevertheless,  it  is  certain  that  all  the  sloughs  of  the  roll- 
ing prairies  find  their  way  to  lower  and  deeper  channels,  where  they 
definitely  shed  their  water.  It  is  certain,  also,  that  in  reaching  the 
Mississippi,  the  Minnesota,  etc.,  the  sloughs  are  deeper  and  nearly 
perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  the  rivers.  Thus  the  rolling  of  the 
prairies  along  the  great  rivers  resembles  a  succession  of  fronting  abut- 
ments. Prof.  WHITNEY,  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  Geological  Eeport 
of  Iowa,  makes  a  corresponding  remark  when  he  says  (p.  17) :  "The 
streams  of  the  prairies  usually  take  their  rise  in  small  depressions  of  the 
high  prairies,  scarcely  to  be  noticed  as  being  below  the  general  level  of  the 
region.  As  their  course  continues,  the  beds  generally  sink,  etc."  Indeed, 
the  bottoms  of  our  lakes,  and  of  the  ocean,  also,  are  marked  along 
the  shores  by  swells  and  deep  furrows ;  but  they  are  of  quite  a  dif- 
ferent form  from  that  of  the  knolls  of  the  prairies,  and  whenever,  by 
the  receding  of  the  water,  they  appear  above  the  surface,  they  are 
immediately  covered  by  a  luxuriant  arborescent  vegetation,  and  from 
the  timbered  islands  of  our  lakes  or  the  long  peninsulas  bordering 

Prof.  DESOB,  Bulletin  Soc.  Science  Sat.  de  Neucliatel,  Dec..  1856. 


184  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  ocean.  The  timbered  coteaux  of  our  prairies,  coteaux  des  bois, 
coteaux  des  bois  rouges,  etc.,  are  certainly  caused  by  such  swells  of  the 
primitive  bottoms. 

That  the  prairies  have  been  originally  covered  with  water  to  their 
highest  points,  is  a  fact  acknowledged  by  geology  and  proved  by  the 
traces  of  submergence  and  deposits  left  along  the  course  of  our  rivers 
to  the  highest  point  of  their  sources,  even  to  the  prairie  near  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  at  an  altitude  of  5,000  feet  above  the 
ocean.  The  Glacial  epoch,  marked  by  the  formation,  or,  rather,  the 
dispersion  of  the  drift,  has  been  followed  by  a  period  of  subsi- 
dence— the  Champlain  epoch;*  and  this,  afterwards,  by  a  period  of 
slow  upheaval  and  slow  drainage,  still  in  activity  on  our  North 
American  continent.  The  records  of  this  movement  are  marked  in 
denudations,  deepening  of  channels,  moulding  of  terraces  along  the 
lakes  and  rivers,  t  and  in  the  prairies  formed  were  all  the  horizontal 
surfaces  which  were  successively  left,  covered  with  vast  sheets  of 
shallow  water,  during  the  process  of  slow  emergence. 

Prof.  WHITNEY,  in  the  same  report  mentioned  above,  examining 
the  same  question  of  the  formation  of  the  prairies,  and  admitting 
their  original  submersion,  considers  the  absence  of  trees  as  caused 
by  the  fineness  of  the  soil,  which  he  attributes  in  part  to  the  nature 
of  the  rocks  underlying  it,  and,  in  part,  to  the  accumulation,  in  the 
bottom  of  immense  lakes,  of  a  sediment  of  almost  impalpable  fineness  under 
certain  conditions.  This  explanation.  I  think,  cannot  satisfy  the  mind. 
Prairies  cover  every  kind  of  geological  formation,  even  granite  rocks — 
as  in  Minnesota,  between  St.  Peters  and  Fort  Ridgley.  Most  gener- 
ally they  overlie  the  drift.  It  is  evident  that  the  black  soil  of  their 
surface,  as  well  as  the  clayey  sub-soil,  whatever  the  thickness  of 
these  strata  may  be,  have  been  formed  in  place  by  the  agency  and 
growth  of  a  peculiar  vegetation.  In  stagnant  water,  whenever  water 
is  low  enough  to  admit  the  transmission  of  light  and  air  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  sustain  vegetable  life,  the  bottom  is  first  invaded  by  Con- 
ferrse,  and  especially  by  Characeae,  and  a  peculiar  kind  of  floating 
moss  (Hypnum  aduncum,  Hedn).  These  plants  contain,  in  their  tissue, 
a  great  proportion  of  lime,  alumina,  silica,  and  even  of  oxyd  of  iron,^: 
the  elements  of  clay.  When  exposed  to  atmospheric  influence,  the 
Characese  become  covered  with  an  efflorescence  of  scarcely  carbonized 
or  pure  iron.  Moreover,  this  vegetation  of  the  low  stagnant  waters 

*  Dana's  Manual  of  Geology,  p.  547. 

t  The  Terrace  epoch.    Dana's  Manual  of  Geology,  p.  554. 

:  DeCandolle  Physiol.  Veget,  pp.183  to  188. 


ORIGIN   AND   FORMATION   OF   THE   PRAIRIES.  185 

feeds  a  prodigious  quantity  of  small  mollusks  and  infusoria,  whose 
shells  and  detritus  greatly  add  to  the  deposits.  The  final  result  of  the 
decomposition  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  fine  clay  of  the  sub-soil  of  the 
prairies,  which  is  indeed  truly  impalpable,  when  dried  and  pulverized 
and  unmixed  with  sand.  This  kind  of  formation  has  been  observed 
and  described  a  long  time  ago,  especially  by  CHROME,  who  correctly 
attributes  it  to  the  decomposition  of  Conferrse,  Characese,  etc.,  the  clay 
over  which  peat  bogs  generally  grow,  and  which,  by  its  appearance 
and  compound,  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  underlying  the  prairies. 
A  large  pond  in  the  King's  garden,  at  Fredericksburg,  in  Denmark, 
is  every  year  filled  with  about  one  foot  of  clayey  matter,  by  the  decom- 
position of  Characese,  small  mollusks  and  infusoria.  But  we  have  no 
nsed  to  go  far  to  examine  a  kind  of  formation  observable  in  nearly 
every  open  swamp  of  ours.  In  the  lakes  of  the  high  prairies  the 
phenomenon  presents  sometimes  a  peculiar  character.  At  the  depth 
of  from  one  to  three  feet,  the  above  named  plants,  Mosses,  Con- 
ferrae  and  Charas,  form  a  thick  carpet,  which  hardens,  becomes  con- 
sistent, like  a  kind  of  felt,  and,  floating  about  six  inches  above  the 
bottom,  is  nearly  strong  enough  to  sustain  the  weight  of  a  man. 
This  carpet  is  pierced  with  holes,  where  fishes  pass  to  and  fro ;  and 
the  bottom,  under  it,  is  that  fine  impalpable  clay,  evidently  a  residue 
of  the  decomposition  of  its  plants.  At  the  depth  of  three  and  a  half 
to  four  feet  this  vegetation  suddenly  ceases,  and  the  bottom  of  the 
lakes  is  pure  sand  and  pebbles,  with  shells.  Nearer  to  the  borders, 
on  the  contrary,  at  a  depth  of  one  foot,  the  carpet  of  mosses,  etc., 
begin  to  be  intermixed  with  some  plants  of  sedges,  which  become 
more  and  more  abundant  in  proportion  as  the  depth  decreases.  As 
soon  as  the  blades  of  these  plants  reach  above  the  water,  they  absorb 
and  decompose  carbonic  acid,  transform  it  into  woody  matter,  under 
atmospheric  influence,  and  then  their  detritus  is,  at  first,  clay  mould, 
and  then  pure  black  mould,  the  upper  soil  of  the  prairies.  Of  course, 
near  the  borders  of  the  rivers,  or  under  peculiar  circumstances,  the 
formation  is  somewhat  modified  by  the  addition  of  transported  matter 
or  of  foreign  elements.  The  clay  may  thus  take  a  different  color,  have 
a  somewhat  different  composition,  but  the  process  of  formation  does 
not  materially  change. 

Considering  the  whole  explanation  of  the  formation  of  the  prairies, 
as  it  is  exposed  in  this  paper,  I  think  that  it  covers  the  whole 
ground,  and  applies  to  most  of  the  cases,  if  not  all,  where  the 
ground  is  naturally  naked  or  without  trees.  It  gives  the  reason  of 
the  presence  of  the  prairies  from  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
to  the  borders  of  the  Mississippi  river;  of  the  prairies  around  the 


186  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

lakes  and  of  those  of  the  broad  flat  bottoms  of  our  southern  rivers ; 
of  the  plates  of  the  Madeira  river ;  of  those  of  the  Paraguay ;  of  the 
pampas  of  Brazil;  even  of  the  desert  plains  of  our  western  Salt 
Lakes — for  this  formation  is  produced  in  the  same  manner  in  the 
salt  marshes  of  the  sea  as  in  the  fresh  water  swamps  of  our  lakes. 
And  if,  passing  to  other  continents,  we  examine  in  Europe  the  low 
natural  meadows  of  Holland,  the  barrens  or  heaths  of  Oldenburg, 
all  the  plains  on  the  shores  of  the  North  and  of  the  Baltic  seas, 
and  in  Asia  the  vast  steppes  of  the  Caspian,  etc.,  etc.,  we  find 
everywhere  the  same  appearances,  the  same  results  of  a  general 
identical  action,  modified  only  by  local,  mostly  climatic  circum- 
stances. 

In  a  paper  recently  published*,  Prof.  WINCHELL,  of  Michigan,  has 
contradicted  my  opinion  on  the  formation  of  the  prairies,  in  a  few 
words,  which  merit  an  examination  not  only  in  consideration  of  the 
high  authority  in  which  they  come,  but  also  in  order  to  have  a  full 
and  clear  understanding  of  the  most  important  phenomena  accom- 
panying the  formation  of  the  prairies.  He  says :  that  a  theory  often 
urged  is  the  considerable  humidity  of  the  soil  of  certain  prairies,  which  pre- 
vents the  growth  of  trees,  and  he  supports  it  by  this  mere  assertion : 
that  it  is  singular  that  such  an  opinion  could  be  entertained  when 
it  is  so  well  known  that  there  is  no  situation  so  wet  but  certain 
trees  will  flourish  in  it :  the  Willow,  the  Tupelo,  the  Water  Oak,  the 
Tamarac,  the  American  Arbor  Vitce,  etc.  And  considering  Prof.  WHIT- 
NEY'S supposition  that  the  extreme  fineness  of  the  prairie  soil  is  the 
cause  of  the  absence  of  trees,  he  puts  it  off  in  the  same  way  by 
another  assertion :  that  the  fatal  objection  to  this  theory  and  all  the  theo- 
ries which  look  to  the  physical  or  chemical  condition  of  the  soil  for  an  ex- 
planation of  the  treeless  character  of  the  prairies,  is  discovered  in  the  fact 
that  trees  will  grow  on  them  when  once  introduced.  As  it  is  not  proper 
to  refute  an  assertion  by  a  contrary  one,  let  us  examine  under  what 
circumstances  trees  may  grow  in  some  swamps,  and  what  the  high- 
est scientific  authorities  have  to  say  on  the  subject. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  of  Botanical  Physiology,  that  trees  absorb 
by  their  roots  a  certain  amount  of  oxygen  necessary  to  their  life. 
It  is  in  accordance  wifh  this  principle  that  trees,  to  thrive  well, 
ought  not  to  be  planted  too  deep ;  that  most  of  the  species  of  trees 
perish  when  their  roots  are  buried  in  a  stratum  of  clay  impermeable 
to  air,  or  underlaid  by  clay  impermeable  to  water:  that  whenever 
the  water  of  a  creek  is  dammed  to  make  a  pond,  all  the  trees  are 

*  Silliman's  Journal,  vol.  38,  p,  343. 


ORIGIN   AND   FORMATION   OF   THE    PRAIRIES.  187 

killed  on  the  whole  flooded  space.  Current  water,  even  when  its 
movement  is  slow,  furnishes  to  certain  species  of  trees  (most  of  the 
species  cited  by  Prof.  WINCHELL),  whose  roots,  when  immersed,  have 
the  property  of  dividing  themselves  into  innumerable  filaments,  a 
sufficient  amount  of  air  and  oxygen  for  their  life.  Hence  such  trees 
grow  in  swamps  inundated  by  the  water  of  adjacent  rivers,  or  peri- 
odically invaded  by  the  tides.  The  water  of  such  swamps  is  not 
permanent,  and  its  whole  mass  is  subjected  to  some  kind  of  move- 
ment. It  is  thus  that  in  the  South,  the  Bald  Cypress  and  the 
Tupelo  grow  even  in  the  middle  of  creeks  and  bayous.  But  look 
everywhere  else,  along  the  rivers  and  on  the  sea  and  lake  shores, 
and  wherever  a  sheet  of  shallow  water  is  sheltered  against  the 
waves,  the  tides  or  currents,  you  find,  invariably,  treeless  swamps 
passing  to  prairies.* 

The  single  fact,  to  my  knowledge,  which  could  be  mentioned  as 
sustaining  the  assertion  under  consideration,  is,  that  peculiar  kinds 
of  shrubs,  the  Button-Bush,  the  Swamp  Eose,  etc.,  form  thickets 
around  some  true  swamps  in  the  forests.  But  in  examining  the 
process  of  germination  of  the  seeds  or  the  young  shoots,  it  is  easy 
to  see  that  the  germs  are  not  developed  in  water,  but  in  the  dry, 
decayed  matter  of  rotten,  prostrated  trees.  In  summer,  and  only 
when  the  margins  of  the  swamps  are  dry,  the  swamps  become  in 
that  way  surrounded  by  a  belt  of  shrubs,  but  its  central  part  is 
open  and  inhabited  by  herbaceous  plants  only. 

Now,  what  says  DECANDOLLE,  in  his  classical  book  on  Vegetable 
Physiology?  "That  a  constant  irrigation  necessary  for  the  rice  cul- 
ture in  Lombardy,  has  a  great  inconvenience,  because  the  water 
penetrates  the  ground  of  the  neighboring  properties,  and  kills  the 
trees."  That  "water  left  stagnant  for  a  time  on  the  ground  rots  the 
trees  at  their  column,  prevents  the  access  of  oxygen  to  the  roots, 
and  kills  them."  That  "in  the  low  grounds  of  Holland  they  dig,  for 
planting  trees,  deep  holes,  and  fill  the  bottom  with  bundles  of 
bushes,  as  a  kind  of  drainage  for  surplus  water,  as  long  as  the  tree 
is  young  enough  to  be  killed  by  humidity."  That  "the  true  swamps 
and  marshes  have  no  trees,  and  cannot  have  any,  because  stagnant 
water  always  kills  them."}  Authorities  like  these  could  be  cited  by 
volumes. 

The  second  assertion,  that  trees  will  grow  on  the  prairies  when  once 
introduced,  or  planted,  is  certainly  true.  But  we  should  take  care 

*Some  species  of  trees,  like  the  Magnolia,  grow  on  the  southern  peat  bogs,  by  the 
same  reason  that  Tamaracs  grow  on  the  peat  bogs  of  the  North. 
tDeCandolle,  Physiology  of  Vegetation,  p.  1206  to  1212. 


188  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

to  make  a  distinction  been  the  results  of  an  artificial  process  and 
those  of  a  naturaltone.  When  trees  are  planted  on  the  prairies,  the 
soil  is  conveniently  pre-prepared.  The  clayey  sub-soil  mixed  with 
the  black  mould  forms  a  compound  which  combines  density  of  cer- 
tain parts  with  lightness  of  others,  and  contain  a  great  proportion 
of  nutritive  elements.  If  the  clay  of  the  sub-soil  is  not  too  thick  to 
be  impermeable  to  water,  and  thus  to  retain  it  around  the  roots, 
this  prepared  or  artificial  ground  is  indeed  very  appropriate  to  the 
growth  of  trees.  But,  has  ever  anybody  seen  Oaks  or  Hickory,  or 
any  other  kind  of  trees,  grow  in  the  prairies  from  a  handful,  or 
from  a  bushel,  of  acorns  or  of  nuts  thrown  upon  their  surface  ?  Why, 
then,  if  trees  will  grow  on  the  prairies,  do  we  not  see  those  isolated 
and  far-between  clusters  of  trees,  which  appear  here  and  there  on 
the  borders  of  ancient  lakes,  cover  a  wider  area,  and  by  and  by 
invade  the  whole  prairies  ?  Some  of  these  trees  have  lived  there  for 
ages ;  their  trunks  are  strong  and  thick,  and  their  branches,  widely 
expanded,  are  shaken,  and  their  fruits  swept  away  by  the  impetu- 
osity of  the  autumnal  storm ;  and  nevertheless  their  domain  is  re- 
stricted by  the  nature  of  the  ground  to  limits  which  they  have  never 
surpassed. 

To  close  this  examination,  we  have  still  to  test  the  /value  of  the 
above  remarks  by  comparing  them  with  what  we  know,  from  agri- 
cultural experience,  of  the  nature  of  the  soil  of  the  prairies.  Its 
thickness  is  first  to  be  considered.  In  Illinois  it  varies  from  one  to 
four  feet,  and  even  more.*  How  has  been  produced  this  enormous 
coating  of  black  mould  which  covers  the  clay  sub-soil?  And,  also, 
how  has  this  subsoil  been  produced  if  not  under  the  influence  and 
action  of  water  ?  Complete  oxydation  of  vegetable  remains  has  never 
resulted  in  the  heaping  of  such  a  peculiar  thick  compound  as  is  the 
soil  of  the  prairies.  Even  in  our  oldest  and  still  virgin  forests  the 
humus  is  never  so  deep.  In  some  bottoms,  perhaps,  the  arable 
ground  may  be  found  as  thick ;  but  it  is  not  the  result  of  vegetable 
decomposition,  but  of  successive  accumulations  of  mud  by  floods. 
We  must  then  consider  this  prairie  soil  as  formed  under  peculiar 
chemical  action,  by  a  slow  oxydation  or  decomposition  of  vegetable 
matter,  retarded  in  its  action  by  water,  in  preventing  the  free  access 
of  oxygen,  as  it  has  happened  in  the  formation  of  the  peat.  But 

*  In  the  oldest  and  highest  rolling  prairies,  the  soil  has  been  often  washed  away  and  its 
thickness  reduced,  by  the  same  agency  which  has  moulded  the  knolls,  or  by  water. 
There,  the  black  mould  is  generally  heaped  in  the  low  grounds  or  sloughs.  It  is  well 
understood,  also,  that  the  general  thickness  of  the  soil  of  the  prairies  depends,  for  each 
locality,  on  the  length  of  time  during  which  they  have  been  covered  with  water. 


ORIGIN   AND   FORMATION   OF   THE   PRAIRIES.  189 

in  this  last  matter,  the  oxydation  is  much  slower  and  less  complete ; 
and  water  being  permanent,  not  exposed  to  change  of  levels,  cannot 
bring  into  it  the  elements  of  fertility'  which  it  gives  to  the  soil  of 
the  prairies.  This  soil  is  then,  as  we  have  said,  half  peat  and  half 
humus. 

The  great  proportion  of  ulmic  acid  contained  in  the  prairie  soil, 
is  perceivable  in  its  slow  decomposition  when  exposed  to  atmospheric 
action.  The  overturned  sod  of  the  prairies  would  scarcely  become 
decomposed  and  pulverized  in  two  or  three  years,  if  its  disintegra- 
tion was  not  helped  by  repeated  plowings.  It  is  this  acid  which  in 
too  large  proportions,  renders  sometimes  the  soil  hard  or  sour.  But 
it  has  also  the  property  of  preserving  for  a  longer  time  the  fertiliz- 
ing elements  mixed  with  it.  Hence,  it  is  one  of  the  cause's  of  the 
long  continued  productiveness  of  the  prairie  soil.  Under  the  influ- 
ence of  stagnant  water,  and  the  remains  of  animals  which  have 
inhabited  it  while  the  soil  was  in  process  of  formation,  silica  espe- 
cially, with  alumina,  ammonia,  and  other  elements,  ha.ve  entered  it 
in  sufficient  proportion,  and  caused  its  extraordinary  fertility,  and 
especially  its  inexhaustible  productiveness  for  grasses ;  for  by  the 
impermeability  of  the  under  clay,  the  fertilizing  elements  have  been 
left  in  the  soil.  As  natural  meadows,  our  prairies  have  fed  for  cen- 
turies innumerable  herds  of  Buffalo,  Deer,  etc.,  which  roamed  over 
them,  and  now  they  will  feed  and  fatten  our  herds  of  cattle  for  as 
long  a  time  as  we  may  want  it.  More  than  this,  from  the  peculiar 
compound  of  the  soil,  the  prairies  under  cultivation  may  produce, 
for  an  indefinite  length  of  time,  crops  of  cereals,  corn,  wheat,  etc. 
as  rich  as  may  be  obtained  from  the  richest  bottom  land,  and  with- 
out any  apparent  diminution  of  the  productive  capacity  of  the  soil. 
Even  if,  by  successive  crops  of  the  same  kind,  the  upper -soil  should 
become  somewhat  deprived  of  its  fertilizing  elements,  especially  of 
the  silica,  lime  and  alumina,  so  necessary  for  the  growth  of  corn, 
do  we  not  know  by  experience,  as  we  know  it  from  details  of  its 
formation,  that  the  sub-soil  is  a  real  mine  of  these  fertilizing  ele- 
ments, and  that  deep  plowing  will  return  to  an  exhausted  prairie 
land  its  primitive  fertility. 

For  the  culture  of  trees,  also,  our  explanation  of  the  formation 
of  the  prairies  give  directions  the  most  in  accordance  with  what 
experience  teaches  us  to  be  right.  To  plant  trees  which  do  not  like 
humidity — fruit  trees,  especially — dig  deep  holes,  pass  through  the 
clay  to  the  drift  and  thus  establish  a  natural  drainage.  Fill,  then, 
the  bottom  of  the  hole  with  loose  materials,  pebbles,  bushes,  sod  or 
mould,  and  thus  you  have  the  best  ground  that  can  be  prepared  for 


190  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  health  and  long  life  of  trees.  When  this  cannot  be  done  and 
shade  trees  are  desirable,  for  example,  plant,  in  any  hole  deep  enough 
to  contain  the  roots,  elms,  buttonwood,  white  locusts,  etc.,  all  species 
which  live  generally  along  the  rivers  and  support  a  certain  degree  of 
humidity,  and  they  will  thrive,  if  pnly  they  get  some  air  through 
the  ground  which  covers  them. 

We  cannot  consider  the  prairies  as  resulting  from  some  kind  of 
casualty  of  nature,  but  as  the  visible  expression  of  one  of  its  laws, 
printed,  so  to  say,  by  the  hand  of  Divine  Power.  They  are  as  much 
in  harmony,  agree  as  well  with  the  destiny  of  our  American  people, 
as  our  immense  coal  fields  and  their  rich  deposits.  Like  these  pro- 
digious sources  of  combustible  mineral,  they  clearly  point  out  the 
future  of  the  race  of  men  which  is  called  to  inhabit  them  and  profit 
by  their  fertility.  While  one  of  these  formations  is  destined  to 
furnish  an  immense  population  the  elements  of  industrial  greatness, 
the  other  is  ready  to  provide  it  with  both  the  essential  elements  of 
life— bread  and  meat.  Hence  the  prairies  have  their  place  marked 
in  the  future  history  of  mankind.  They  do  not  indicate  or  prophecy 
luxury,  laziness  and  dissipation  of  life,  but  hard  work,  abundance, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  freedom  and  true  manhood. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CHEMICAL  BEPOKT  FOB  THE  GEOLOGICAL  SUBVEY  OF 

ILLINOIS. 


BY  DR.  J.  V.  Z.  BLANEY. 

Prof.  A.  H.   Worthen,  State  Geologist: 

DEAR  SIR — The  limited  time  since  the  receipt  from  you  of  speci- 
mens for  analyses,  has  permitted  the  completion  of  a  part  of  them 
only.  The  number  of  coal  specimens  being  the  greatest  and  form- 
ing the  most  complete  series,  I  commenced  with  them ;  and  with  the 
valuable  assistance  of  Mr.  GEO.  A.  MARINER  I  have  been  enabled  to 
report  the  results  of  the  whole  number — fifty-nine  specimens.  I  have 
reported  to  Mr.  MCCHESNEY  the  results  of  the  analyses  of  two  lime- 
stones, in  regard  to  which  I  was  only  desired  by  him  to  ascertain 
the  proportions  respectively  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  of  carbonate 
of  magnesia.  A  limestone,  labeled  "From  DeWitt  C.  Dougherty's 
place,  Union  county — to  be  tested  for  hydraulic  properties,"  gives  the 
following  result: 

Carbonate  of  lime 89.257 

Carbonate  of  magnesia ." 9.300 

Clay,  oxide  of  iron 1.399 

99.956 

This  result  gives  too  large  a  proportion  of  carbonate  of  lime  and 
magnesia,  compared  with  the  proportion  of  silicates  of  alumina  and 
iron,  to  warrant  the  supposition  that  it  would  make  good  hydraulic 
lime.  Comparison  with  the  following,  extensively  used  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  a  hydraulic  cement,  which  is  highly  esteemed,  will  con- 
firm this  opinion.  This  specimen  was  forwarded  for  analysis  by 
Mr.  J.  H.  MCCHESNEY,  and  labeled  "Limestone  used  at  Clarke's 
Cement  Mills,  at  Utica,  LaSalle  county" : 


192  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

C arbon ate  of  li me 43 . 50 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 30.07 

Carbonate  of  protoxide  of  iron 2.00 

Clay  (silicate  of  alumina) 20.00 

Silica  (free) 1.00 

Alumina  (free) a  trace 

Potash 0.18 

Water..  .    3.00 


99.75 

The  limestone  from  Union  county  contains  so  small  a  proportion 
of  ingredients  other  than  carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia,  that  it 
should  make,  by  burning,  an  excellent  lime  for  building  purposes. 

Three  specimens  of  Iron  ore  were  received  for  analyses,  all  from 
Hardin  county.  They  were  labeled,  "Iron  ores,  Hardin  county,  Illi- 
nois ;  from  the  vicinity  of  Illinois  Furnace." 

Specimen  No.  1. — This  was  a  very  close,  heavy  pipe-ore— :the  imita- 
tive form  of  the  pipe-stem  well  observed;  scarcely  any  ochreous 
admixture.  It  gave  the  following  results : 

Water 11.46 

Silica 3.156 

Alumina 1.680 

Peroxyd  of  iron 81.220 

Oxyd  of  maganese 0.145 

Magnesia  and  lime .  none 

97.660 

No.  2. — Was  a  pipe-ore  of  less  regular  structure,  and  with  much 
ochreous  deposit  between  and  around  the  "pipes."  It  gave  the  fol- 
lowing analysis: 

Water 12.265 

Silica 3.960 

Alumina 3.160 

Peroxyd  of  iron 81.220 

Maganese,  magnesia  and  lime none 

100.605 

A7o.  3. — This  is  an  ore  of  hydrated  protoxyd  of  iron,  which  might 
be  termed  "Limonite."  It  was  heavy,  compact,  massive;  without 
imitative  form,  but  slightly  cellular.  Superficially,  and  within  the 
larger  cells,  was  a  thin  ochreous  deposit,  partly  yellow  or  buff  and 
partly  vermilion,  in  colors.  It  gave  the  following  analysis : 

Water 10.985 

Silica 2.900 

Alumina 2.140 

Peroxyd  of  iron 84.620 

Peroxyd  of  magnese a  trace 

Lime  and  magnesia : none 

100.645 


CHEMICAL   REPORT.  193 

As  regards  the  soils  which  were  sent,  I  regret  to  say  that  the  time 
intervening  between  the  receipt  of  the  specimens  and  the  time  at 
which  this  report  was  received  was  too  short  to  permit  their  com- 
plete analysis ;  and  unless  complete,  they  would  be  useless.  They 
are  consequently  not  reported. 

The  analysis  of  soils  is  so  important,  in  view  of  the  immense  pre- 
ponderance of  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  State,  that  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  Legislature  will  make  appropriations  which  will 
secure  the  analysis  of  a  large  series  of  soils.  This  should  be  done 
with  reference  to  the  character  of  virgin  soils,  known  to  produce 
largely  of  certain  crops,  as  compared  with  the  same  soils  which,  by 
constant  cropping,  have  ceased  to  be  productive.  This  would,  if  the 
number  of  analyses  were  sufficient,  give  valuable  and  reliable  sug- 
gestions in  regard  to  the  proper  rotation  of  crops  and  the  character 
of  manures  required  to  restore  productiveness.  The  nature  of  sub- 
soils should  also  be  examined  on  a  somewhat  extensive  scale,  to 
ascertain  whether  or  not  the  specific  ingredients  wanting  in  worn-out 
soils  may  be  restored,  and  soils  naturally  poor  may  not  be  improved, 
by  deep,  sub-soil  plowing.  The  specific  wants  of  different  soils  for 
special  crops,  for  fruit  culture,  etc.,  and  many  mooted  points  in 
agriculture  and  horticulture,  might  thus  be  settled. 

Herewith  I  transmit  a  report  explanatory  of  the  table  of  analyses 
of  coal  specimens,  and  which  you  will  use  at  your  discretion. 

I  am,  sir, 

Yours,  respectfully, 

JAS.  V.  Z.  BLANEY. 

Report  accompanying  the  Table  of  Coal  Analyses,  by  James  V.Z.  Blaney, 

A.M.,  M.D. 

In  accordance  with  your  request,  I  append  some  remarks  on  the 
practical  application  of  fossil  fuel,  which,  while  claiming  but  little 
on  the  score  of  originality,  may  be  of  value  to  some  readers  of  the 
report. 

The  inexhaustible  stores  of  fossil  fuel  which  the  State  of  Illinois 
holds  concealed  in  her  bosom,  has  scarcely  begun  to  claim  the 
attention  which  its  immense  importance  demands.  The  small  pro- 
portion of  the  State  covered  with  timber,  compared  with  the  vast 
extent  of  prairie,  indicates  that  at  no  distant  day  the  numerous 
railroads  which  intersect  the  State,  in  all  directions,  will  be  forced 
to  resort  to  mineral  fuel  as  an  unavoidable  necessity;  while  for 
-13 


194  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

manufacturing  and  domestic  purposes  its  almost  exclusive  use  will 
soon  be  equally  imperative.  In  addition  to  its  uses  simply  as  fuel, 
the  comparatively  recent  chemical  inventions,  hy  which  illumina- 
ting and  lubricating  oils  are  economically  extracted  from  bituminous 
coal,  gives  an  additional  reason  for  encouraging,  by  legislative  action, 
and  otherwise,  the  development  of  the  vast  deposits  of  this  variety 
of  fossil  fuel  which  Providence  has  so  bountifully  provided  within 
the  limits  of  our  State. 

I  shall  endeavor,  as  briefly  as  possible,  to  indicate  the  relative 
value  of  different  kinds  of  fuel,  and  more  particularly  the  mode  of 
judging  from  the  results  of  analysis  of  the  special  applications  of 
the  various  qualities  of  bituminous  coal.  As  preliminary,  £  few 
remarks  on  the  characteristics  of  the  different  species  of  fuel  will 
not  be  amiss. 

Previous  to  the  discovery  of  the  combustible  properties  of  mineral 
fuel,  wood  furnished  the  exclusive  fuel  for  man,  and,  if  we 
except  certain  manufacturing  districts,  still  furnishes  the  principal 
fuel  of  the  world.  It  was  not,  indeed,  until  the  development  of 
steam  power,  as  the  grand  element  of  national  wealth,  that  a  more 
effective  fuel  was  demanded.  The  effective  value  of  any  fuel  is 
found  to  be  directly  proportionate  to  the  amount  of  oxygen  consumed 
in  its  combustion.  A  fuel  which  contains  a  certain  amount  of 
oxygen  already  combined  with  one  or  other  of  its  combustible  con- 
stituents, will  then  give  out  less  heat  in  burning  than  another  which 
contains  less  oxygen,  and  the  most  effective  fuel  for  a  given  weight 
would  be  one  which  contained  no  oxygen.  All  fuel  consists  of 
carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxygen,  in  varying  proportions.  One  pound 
of  carbon,  in  burning,  will  combine  with  266/100  Ibs.  of  oxygen,  and 
one  pound  of  hydrogen  will  combine  with  8  Ibs.  of  oxygen.  Hence 
to  find  the  real  value  of  any  fuel,  it  is  only  necessary  to  know  the 
portions  respectively  of  carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxygen  it  contains; 
then  multiply  the  number  of  pounds  of  carbon  in  100  Ibs.  of  the 
fuel  by  Sue/,,,,,,  and  the  number  of  pounds  of  hydrogen  by  8,  and  from 
the  sum  subtract  the  amount  of  oxygen  contained  already,  and  the 
result  gives  the  effective  value  of  the  fuel — for  every  pound  of 
oxygen  effectively  consumed  will  heat  29  Ibs.  of  water  from  32°  to 
212°  Fahr.,  i.  e.  from  the  freezing  to  the  boiling  point.  Having, 
then,  the  ultimate  analysis  of  any  kind  of  fuel,  we  can  easily  esti- 
mate its  real  value.  But  certain  kinds  of  fuel,  wood  in  particular, 
contain  water,  mechanically  absorbed  and  retained  with  much  force 
by  capillary  attraction.  This  water  is  termed  the  " Hyyrometric " 
moisture.  It  is  obvious  that  a  part  of  the  effective  heat  of  combus- 


CHEMICAL   KEPOET.  195 

tion  of  any  fuel  must  be  lost  in  converting  this  water  into  steam. 
Now,  one  pound  of  oxygen  consumed  will  convert  about  5™/m  Ibs.  of 
water,  at  212°  Fahr.,  into  steam.  If,  then,  neglecting  the  heating 
of  the  water  to  "212°,  we  divide  the  percentage  of  water  by  £*/m,  we 
have  the  correction  to  be  applied  for  the  loss  of  heat  due  to  the 
presence  of  water.  To  show  the  importance  of  this  correction,  I 
refer  to  the  following  table,  which  gives  the  amount  of  water  in 
several  different  kinds  of  fuel: 

PEE   CENT. 

Oak  wood,  recently  cut,  contains 34.70  water 


Oak  wood,  air  dried 
Beech  wood,  green, 
Beech  wood,  air  dried, 
Poplar  wood,  green, 
Poplar  wood,  air  dried 


16.64 
39.70 
18.56 
50.60 
19.55 


Bituminous  coal from  2. 00  to  12.00 

I  shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to  refer  to  another  effect  of  the 
presence  of  ' '  Hygrometric  moisture"  upon  the  value  of  coals  for 
special  purposes. 

From  the  table  given  further  on,  of  the  ultimate  analyses  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  fuel,  it  will  be  seen  that  wood  contains  more  oxygen, 
and  is  consequently  much  less  effective  for  any  given  weight,  than 
other  kinds  of  fuel. 

Fossil  fuel  may  be  divided  into  four  classes,  characterized  geolog- 
ically by  their  relative  age,  and  chemically  by  their  greater  or  less 
departure  from  the  constitution  of  woody  fibre  or  ligneous  matter, 
from  which  they  all  originated.  There  are,  first,  Peat  or  Turf; 
second,  Brown  Coal  or  Lignite ;  third,  Pit  Coal,  Sea  Coal,  or  Bitu- 
minous Coal ;  fourth,  Anthracite. 

In  order  to  exhibit  the  composition  of  each  variety,  and  the  great- 
est transition  from  wood,  as  the  starting  point,  and  anthracite  as 
the  ultimate  result,  of  a  gradual  decomposition  which  has  been  the 
work  of  ages,  I  give  the  following  ultimate  analyses  of  different 
kinds  of  fuel: 

Kind  of  fuel.  Carbon.       Hydrogen.      Oxygen. 

Oak  wood 49.10  6.30  44.60 

Peat  or  turf .' 60.10  6.10  33.80 

Fossil  wood -. 57.80  5.80  36.40 

Lignite 72.30  5.30  22.40 

Bituminous  coal 82.60  5.60  11.80 

Anthracite 94.04  1.75  4.21 

From  this  table  we  see  that  in  the  transition  from  woody-fibre  to 
bituminous  coal,  if  we  except  the  fossil  wood,  there  has  been  a 
much  larger  proportional  loss  of  oxygen  than  of  hydrogen,  and  with 
a  proportional  increase  in  effective  heating  power.  In  changing 


196  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

from  bituminous  to  anthracite  coal,  we  notice  a  great  loss  of  hydro- 
gen as  compared  with  the  loss  of  oxygen.  Now,  the  loss  of  oxygen 
in  the  former  instances  is  effected  mainly  by  the  formation  of  car- 
bonic acid  or  "choke  damp,"  by  its  combination  with  the  carbon; 
and  the  loss  of  hydrogen  in  the  conversion  of  bituminous  into 
anthracite,  is  by  combination  of  the  hydrogen  with  carbon  to  form 
carbureted  gas  or  "fire  damp."  The  experience  of  miners  goes 
to  show  that  from  the  lower  coals  the  fire  damp  is  emitted  in 
largest  proportion,  and  the  "choke  damp"  from  the  newer  coals. 

Of  these  several  varieties  of  mineral  fuel,  the  third,  or  bituminous 
coal,  is  the  only  one  which  occurs  in  such  quantity  in  our  State  as 
to  deserve  our  special  consideration. 

The  bituminous  coals  differ  so  much,  in  several  particulars,  that 
they  may  be  classified  in  several  different  ways,  viz :  1st,  by  variety 
in  their  structure;  2d,  by  their  behavior  in  the  fire;  and  lastly,  by 
their  chemical  constitution.  The  last-named  mode  only  can  be  con- 
sidered scientific,  but  the  others  have  a  practical  value  which 
entitles  them  to  some  consideration. 

The  classification  based  on  the  structure  of  the  coal  is  as  follows : 

1st.  "Cubical  Coal." — The  celebrated  Pittsburg  seam  is  the  type 
of  this  kind.  It  is  black,  shining,  compact  and  tolerably  hard.  It 
is  particularly  characterized  by  breaking  into  cubical  masses,  from 
the  existence  of  natural  joints  or  planes  of  separation,  perpendicular 
to  the  plane  of  stratification ;  the  cleavage  in  the  plane  of  stratifica- 
tion has,  in  some  specimens,  a  tendency  to  a  conchoidal  fracture. 
The  powder  of  this  variety  is  frequently  brown.  In  general,  it  cokes 
very  much,  and,  if  free  from  sulphur,  is  generally  a  good  blacksmith 
coal. 

2d.  "Slate"  or  "Splint  Coal." — This  variety  is  distinguished  by  the  • 
facility  with  which  it  separates  into  lamina  or  slaty  plates  in  the 
direction  of  the  plane  of  stratification,  with  a  difficult  cross  fracture. 
It  seldom,  if  ever,  cakes  much  on  the  fire.  It  usually  contains  more 
ashes  and  is  heavier  than  the  former  variety.  It  is  not  a  good 
blacksmith  coal,  but  is,  if  not  containing  too  much  ashes  and  sul- 
phur, an  excellent  steam  coal,  and  may  be  used  without  coking  in 
the  blast  furnace.  In  general,  it  bears  transportation  better  than 
the  cubical  variety. 

3d.  "Cannel  Coal." — This  variety  is  easily  distinguished  from  other 
varieties  by  the  absence  of  the  shining  fracture.  Its  fracture  is  dull 
and  earthy  or  resinous.  It  cleaves  with  difficulty  in  the  lines  of 
stratification,  and  is  still  more  difficult  in  the  cross  fracture.  Its 
texture  is  close,  and  in  the  best  qualities  it  gives  a  dull,  woody 


CHEMICAL   REPORT.  197 

sound  on  being  struck.  It  is  a  difficult  coal  to  mine,  and  the  "seams" 
are  not  as  reliable  as  those  of  the  other  varieties.  The  best  quali- 
ties are  exceedingly  rich  in  bituminous  matter,  and,  as  a  class,  this 
variety  yields,  by  distillation,  more  oils  than  others.  There  is  a 
greater  variety  of  composition  in  this  than  other  kinds,  especially  in 
the  amount  of  ashes  contained,  which  varies  from  2.50  to  50.CO  per 
cent.  In  the  latter  cases  it  scarcely  deserves  the  name  of  coal,  but 
is  more  properly  termed  "bituminous  shale,"  and  its  coke  is  entirely 
useless.  Upon  the  fire  it  retains  its  form,  and  is  apt  to  decrepitate, 
splinters  or  flakes  being  thrown  about  by  the  escape  of  moisture  as 
steam.  A  thin  flake  lighted  in  a  candle  continues  to  burn  for  some 
time  after  removal. 

4th.  "Glance  Coal." — Very  closely  resembles  anthracite,  and  is  of 
an  iron-black  color.  It  has  a  beautiful  metallic  lustre,  does  not  soil, 
and  its  fragments  are  sharply  edged.  It  cokes  with  difficulty. 

The  second  mode  of  classifying,  or  rather  of  describing,  varieties, 
is  by  their  behavior  in  the  fire,  as  follows : 

1st.  "Close  Burning  Coals,"  or  "Coking  Coals." — By  this  is  meant, 
that  when  thrown  upon  the  fire  the  coal  becomes  pasty  or  adhesive, 
and  the  fragments,  large  and  small,  become  cemented  together  into 
a  single  mass.  This  kind  of  coal  varies  in  the  degree  of  its  "coking" 
quality,  and  has  its  advantages  and  disadvantages.  It  is  valuable 
alone,  or  mixed  with  other  kinds,  for  the  manufacture  of  coke,  as 
good  coke  being  made  of  the  "slack,"  or  fine  coal,  as  of  the  lumps. 
It  is  mostly  "cubical"  in  structure,  and  is  eminently  a  blacksmith's 
coal,  as  it  forms  a  hollow  fire.  It  burns  wrell  in  open  grates,  even 
the  finest  dust  coking  to  form  a  mass.  As  a  steam  coal  it  is  in  gen- 
eral inferior  to  the  dryer  coals,  as  it  does  not  permit  as  free  draught, 
and  requires  to  have  the  doors  opened  more  frequently  to  break  up 
the  masses  of  coke  which  obstruct  the  draught.  This  admits  cold 
air,  with  a  proportional  loss  of  heat.  From  the  same  causes  pro- 
ducing a  deficiency  in  the  supply  of  oxygen,  in  close  furnaces  and 
stoves,  a  certain  proportion  of  the  volatile  matters  is  apt  to  escape 
combustion,  with  loss  of  value  and  clogging  of  flues.  This  difficulty 
is  in  part  obviated  by  increasing  the  surface  of  grate-bars  and  stoking 
in  thinner  strata.  The  invention  of  perfect  smoke- consuming  furnaces 
for  steam  boilers  and  locomotives  is  as  yet  a  desideratum,  and  when 
effected,  will  add  largely  to  the  value  of  this  variety  of  coal.  The 
caking  quality  is  generally  considered  as  the  result  of  the  presence 
of  a  very  large  proportion  of  bituminous  matter  in  the  coal,  but  this 
Js  by  no  means  invariably  the  case,  since  the  coal  of  Anzin,  in  France, 
is  represented  as  a  caking  coal,  and,  by  the  analysis  of  Earthier, 


198  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

contains  70.5  per  cent,  of  fixed  carbon,  with  but  25.0  per  cent,  of 
volatile  matter.  On  the  other  hand,  a  coal  from  Calder,  near  Glas- 
gow, in  Scotland,  yields,  according  to  the  same  analyst,  but  51.0  per 
cent,  of  fixed  carbon,  and  45.0  per  cent,  of  volatile  matter,  and  is 
classed  as  a  dry  or  open-burning  coal.  The  composition  of  a  coal 
is  not,  then,  a  sure  indication  of  its  behavior  in  the  fire,  experiment 
alone  determining  the  fact. 

2d.  "Dry  Coals,"  or  "Open-Burning  Coeds." — This  variety  is  char- 
acterized by  the  opposite  qualities  to  the  last.  In  structure  they  are 
mostly  "splint"  coals.  On  the  fire  they  generally  cement  together 
somewhat  where  they  are  in  contact,  but  do  not  melt  and  run  into 
a  single  mass.  Some  specimens  scarcely  lose  their  form  in  burning, 
and  these  (other  things  being  equal)  furnish  the  best  steam  coals,  a 
continuous  draught  being  kept  up  through  the  interspaces  between 
the  lumps.  The  slack  of  this  variety,  on  the  other  hand,  is  almost 
useless,  as  it  cannot  be  made  into  coke,  except  by  large  admixture 
with  coking  coal,  and  in  furnaces,  not  cementing  on  the  fire,  it  runs 
into  the  interspaces  between  the  lumps,  and  impairs  the  draught. 
This  kind  has  been  successfully  used  raw  in  the  blast  furnace  pro- 
vided with  the  hot-blast,  but  is  not  applicable  to  the  blacksmith's 
forge. 

3d.  "Very  Dry,"  or  semi-Bituminous  Coals. — As  the  name  implies, 
this  variety  has  a  much  larger  proportion  of  fixed  carbon,  relatively 
to  the  bituminous  matter,  than  the  others.  They  do  not  cement 
together  at  all  on  the  fire,  and  thus  are  eminently  open-burning  coals. 
They  are  most  highly  and  deservedly  valued  as  steam  coals,  and  are 
used  almost  exclusively  by  the  British  Marine  steamers,  and  also  by 
those  of  France  and  Egypt.  They  may  be  used  raw  in  the  blast 
furnace,  but  are  not  valuable  for  coking  or  blacksmith's  purposes. 

The  arrangement  of  bituminous  coals  into  distinct  classes,  according 
to  their  chemical  constitution,  is  not  easily  made.  The  most  important 
distinctions  are  founded  on  the  relative  proportions  of  volatile  com- 
bustible matter  and  of  fixed  carbon.  We  might  thus  divide  them  into 
1st,  highly  bituminous  or  fat  coals ;  2d,  moderately  bituminous,  and 
3d,  semi-bituminous  coals.  The  arrangement  into  a  list,  including 
all  coals  of  known  composition,  commencing  with  those  which  con- 
tain the  largest  proportion  of  volatile  combustible  matter  and  ending 
with  those  having  the  least,  would  be  the  most  satisfactory  method 
of  comparing  them  and  be  of  the  most  practical  value. 

I  come,  now,  to  speak  of  the  value  of  analysis  in  suggesting  the 
practical  applications  of  coal,  and  in  enabling  us  to  arrive  at  its 
true  fuel  value. 


CHEMICAL   REPORT.  199 

There  are  three  several  modes  of  analysis  of  coal,  ally  of  which 
should  be  practiced  on  the  product  of  a  seam  of  coal,  in  order  to 
arrive  at  a  complete  knowledge  of  its  real  value  and  its  peculiar 
applicability.  These  are  1st,  proximate ;  2d,  ultimate,  and  3d,  prac- 
tical analysis.  The  first,  or  proximate  analysis,  is  the  most  easily  and 
expeditiously,  and  hence  the  most  frequently  performed.  When  well 
made,  it  is  sufficiently  suggestive  for  most  purposes.  In  the  table 
No.  Ill,  accompanying  this  report,  will  be  found  the  proximate  anal- 
ysis of  fifty-nine  specimens  of  coal.  In  every  case  the  results  there 
given  are  the  average  of  two  determinations  of  each  ingredient — 
excepting  of  the  ashes,  in  some  cases.  A  single  determination  is  not 
perfectly  reliable,  even  in  the  most  practiced  hands.  Two  should 
always  be  made ;  and  if  the  results  differ,  to  any  considerable  extent, 
a  third  examination  should  be  made. 

The  first  column  of  figures  gives  the  specific  gravity  of  the  specimen ; 
the  second,  the  weight  of  a  solid  cubic  foot,  calculated  from  the 
specific  gravity.  From  these  two  columns  we  are  able  to  judge  some- 
what of  the  structure  of  the  coal,  whether  loose  or  compact ;  of  the 
relation  between  weight  and  measure,  and  hence  the  number  of 
bushels  corresponding  to  a  ton  weight.  We  have  also  the  data  from 
which  to  calculate  the  number  of  tons  to  a  given  area  of  coal  land 
for  a  seam  of  given  thickness,  the  amount  of  room  required  to  store 
a  given  weight  of  coal,  and  other  deductions  of  practical  value. 

The  third  column  of  figures  gives  the  "moisture."  By  this  is. 
meant  the  weight  per  cent,  of  water  which  is  retained  mechanically 
l>y  the  coal,  and  which  is  given  off  at  a  temperature  of  about  250° 
Fahr. — a  temperature  at  which  no  decomposition  of  the  volatile  com- 
bustible matters  take  place.  In  the  analyses. reported  in  most  of  the 
works  of  authority  on  coals,  this  moisture  is  not  separately  deter- 
mined, but  is  included  in  the  estimation  of  the  volatile  combustible 
matters.  This  detracts  much  from  the  value  of  the  analysis,  for  the 
hygrometric  moisture  not  only  is  of  no  value,  as  combustible  matter, 
but  absolutely  diminishes  the  effective  value  of  the  fuel,  as  shown  in 
a  former  part  of  this  report.  The  estimation  of  this  moisture  has 
other  bearings  of  practical  importance,  which  we  shall  notice  presently. 
The  amount  of  moisture  in  coal  is  always  greatest  at  the  time  of 
removal  from  the  mine,  excepting,  of  course,  after  exposure  to  melting 
snows  or  soaking  rains.  For  most  purposes  all  coals  improve  in 
value  by  exposure,  under  cover,  to  a  free  circulation  of  air.  This  pro- 
cess of  "seasoning"  permits  the  escape  of  a  large  proportion  of  the 
mechanically  retained  moisture.  There  is  a  great  difference  in  the 
ca  a  city  of  different  coals  to  retain  moisture,  even  after  long  season- 


200  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

ing ;  and  its  retention  to  any  large  amount  must  be  considered  as  a 
detraction  from  the  merits  of  the  coal.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but 
that  the  presence  of  water  in  any  coal  diminishes,  to  a  great  extent, 
the  amount  of  illuminating  gas  which  it  would  otherwise  produce. 
From  experiments  made  in  France,  by  M.  PENOT,  the  following 
results  were  obtained : 

One  kilogram  of  coal,  containing  10  per  cent,  of  water,  gave — 

Gas  of  good  Quality 160  litres. 

Gas  of  poor  quality 92 

Total 252      " 

The  same  coal,  previously  dried,  gave — 

Gas  of  good  quality 240  litres. 

Gas  of  poor  quality 92 

Total , 332      " 

The  difference  in  the  product  of  gas  due  to  the  presence  of  10  per 
cent,  of  water  is  80  litres — a  little  over  24  per  cent. ;  and  it  is  to  be 
noticed  that  the  gas  of  poor  quality  is  the  same  in  both  cases,  the 
whole  loss  being  in  gas  of  good  quality. 

The  analyses  of  coals  celebrated  as  gas  coals,  as  compared  with 
those  not  esteemed  for  that  purpose,  also  show  that  the  former  con- 
tain but  little  water  as  compared  with  the  latter. 

The  analysis  of  the  Youghiougheny  coal  of  Pennsylvania,  which 
gives  a  large  yield  of  excellent  gas,  is  reported  by  Prof.  PETEK,  in 
the  second  volume  of  the  Keport  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Ken- 
tucky, as  follows : 

Moisture 1.00 

Volatile  combustible  matter 35.00 

Carbon  in  coke 58.40 

Ashes...  .    5.60 


100.00 

The  analysis  of  the  Briar  Hill  coal,  the  favorite  at  the  Chicago  Gas 
Works,  gives,  by  my  own  analysis : 

Moisture 2.40 

Volatile  combustible  matter , 28.00 

Carbon  in  coke 67.60 

Ashes...  .    2.00- 


100.00 

There  are  many  coals  containing  a  much  larger  proportion  of  vola- 
tile combustible  matter,  but  with  a  larger  proportion  of  moisture, 
which  yield  much  less  and  poorer  gas  than  the  two  varieties  given 
above.  JThese  results  may  be  in  part  accounted  for  by  the  chilling 
of  the  retorts  consequent  upon  the  evaporation  of  the  water,  and  in 
part  by  the  fact  that  in  the  presence  of  steam  the  bituminous  mat- 


CHEMICAL   EBPOET.  201 

ters  rise,  as  oil  and  tar,  below  the  gas-making  temperature.  The 
fact  that  the  tar  increases  as  the  gas  diminishes,  from  any  cause 
which  lowers  the  temperature  of  the  retorts,  is  known  to  all  practical 
gas  makers. 

The  fourth  column  of  figures  gives  the  volatile  combustible  matter. 
In  the  analysis  of  coal  specimens  this  constituent  is  estimated  by 
driving  off  the  volatile  matters  from  the  coal  by  a  high  temperature. 
Unless  conducted  with  care  by  a  gradually  increasing  heat,  variations 
will  occur  in  several  analyses  of  the  same  specimens.  This  is  owing 
to  the  fact,  that  by  rapidly  heating  the  small  quantity  used  for  anal- 
ysis, a  much  larger  proportion  of  volatile  matter  may  be  driven  off 
than  by  the  slower  process  usual  in  coking  coal  in  the  large  way. 
Consequently  a  single  determination  should  never  be  considered  satis- 
factory, but  a  second  should  always  be  made ;  and  if  the  results 
differ  widely,  a  third  should  be  made,  to  secure  accuracy. 

It  is  decomposition  by  destructive  distillation  of  this  proximate 
constituent  of  coals,  which  furnishes  the  valuable  illuminating  and 
lubricating  oils  and  illuminating  gas;  but  the  amount  of  these 
several  products  is  not  always  proportionate  to  the  amount  of 
bituminous  constituent,  even  when  the  process  for  their  elimination 
from  different  specimens  is  conducted  in  the  same  way  and  at  the 
same  temperature.  It  is  a  matter  beyond  dispute  that  in  different 
kinds  of  coals  the  bituminous  matter  is  differently  combined  with 
the  fixed  carbon  and  ash,  so  that  in  some  it  is  given  off  freely 
at  comparatively  low  temperatures,  while  in  others  it  requires  a  high 
temperature  to  effect  the  separation.  It  is,  also,  a  fact,  almost 
beyond  doubt,  that  the  nature  of  the  bituminous  matter  is  different 
in  the  different  kinds  of  coal.  Of  this  there  can  be  no  dispute,  so 
far  as  the  volatile  matter  of  the  cannel  coals  is  concerned,  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  other  varieties.  This  supposition  is  reasonable 
when  we  consider  the  fact  that  there  is  great  variety  in  the  vege- 
table impressions  found  in  the  coal  and  the  adjacent  clays  and 
shales,  indicating  a  variety  in  the-  kinds  of  woody  fibre  from  which 
the  coal  was  produced.  The  chemical  changes,  also,  which  resulted 
in  the  transformation  of  wood  into  coal,  may  have  been  varied  by 
the  different  conditions  of  temperature,  moisture,  pressure,  etc.,  so 
as  to  have  produced  bituminous  compounds  of  different  constitution. 
The  results  of  the  ultimate  analysis  of  a  number  of  coal  specimens 
of  different  character,  sufficiently  prove  this  to  have  been  the  case. 
The  indications  for  the  peculiar  applications  of  the  different  kinds 
of  coal  for  oil  and  gas  making,  from  the  results  of  their  ultimate 
composition,  will  be  noticed  hereafter.  I  will  only  indicate  here  that 


202  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

in  "coking"  coals  the  bituminous  matter  is  obviously  more  fusible 
than  in  the  "  splint "  coals ;  otherwise  splint  coals  containing  the 
same  or  a  greater  amount  of  bitumen  should  also  fuse  and  run. 
The  former  also  undergo  destructive  distillation  at  lower  temper- 
atures than  the  latter;  hence  their  freely  blazing  quality,  and  their 
greater  liability  to  loss  of  value,  in  practice,  by  distillation  of  vola- 
tile products  without  burning.  The  greater  heat  which  the  splint 
coals  must  attain  before  any  great  amount  of  their  volatile  matter 
is  given  off,  favors  the  more  complete  combustion  of  the  gases  pro- 
duced, and  hence  the  value  of  this  variety  as  steam  coal. 

The  lower  temperature  at  which  destructive  distillation  occurs,  in 
the  coking  coals,  would  give  them  the  preference  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  "coal  oils" — not  only  the  quantity,  but  also  the  valuable 
quality  of  those  products  depending,  in  a  great  measure,  on  the  low 
temperature  at  which  the  distillation  is  made.  The  reverse  is  the 
case  in  gas  manufacture. 

But  of  all  the  varieties  the  cannel  coals  yield  the  volatile  ingre- 
dients by  destructive  distillation  at  the  lowest  temperature,  which, 
taken  together  with  the  peculiar  composition  of  their  bitumen,  which 
will  be  referred  to  hereafter,  gives  to  them,  as  a  class,  the  preference 
over  all  others  for  the  manufacture  of  "coal  oils." 

The  fifth  column  of  figures  gives  the  amount  of  carbon  in  the 
coke.  These  figures,  added  to  those  of  the  next  column  (which  gives 
the  amount  of  ash),  give  the  percentage  weight  of  the  coke.  These 
two  columns  taken  together,  determine  the  value  of  the  coal  for 
coking,  and  for  the  manufacture  of  iron,  and  also  to  a  certain 
extent  as  steam-making  fuel.  For  all  purposes,  of  course  the  less 
ashes  the  better,  as  the  ash  is  incombustible.  The  determinations 
of  the  amount  of  carbon  in  the  coke  is  not  an  absolute,  but  only  a 
proximate  indication  of  the  amount  of  coke  which  may  be  obtained 
as  a  practical  result  on  a  large  scale. 

Coking  in  stacks  or  heaps  gives  a  less  amount  of  coke  from  the 
same  coal,  than  when  ovens  are  used,  and  still  more  coke  is 
obtained  from  retorts.  The  quantity  of  coke  obtained  in  practice,  by 
the  two  latter  modes  especially,  will  be  probably  from  five  to  ten 
per  cent,  more  in  weight  than  would  be  anticipated  from  the 
analyses  as  given  by  the  figures  of  the  last  column,  as  the  slow 
process  of  coke-burning  permits  a  portion  of  the  bitumen  to  be  con- 
verted into  coke,  which,  in  the  rapid  process  of  analysis,  escapes  as 
volatile  matter. 

The  quality  of  ccke,  as  given  in  the  table,  gives  some  idea  of  the 
nature  of  the  coal,  whether  caking  or  free-burning.  The  term  "s\vol- 


CHEMICAL   REPORT.  203 

len"  designates  that  the  coke  is  inflated  by  the  rapid  escape  of  the 
gasses  or  vapors  from  the  partially  fused  mass ;  hence,  that  the  coal 
is  a  caking  coal.  The  term  "cellular"  indicates  that  a  fusion  of  the 
coal  has  occurred  to  a  certain  degree,  but  that  it  permitted  a  freer 
escape  of  vapors,  and  hence  was  less  "caking"  in  character.  The 
term  "close"  indicates  that  the  coal  is  open-burning  coal,  with  but 
little  disposition  to  cake ;  while  a  "pulverulent"  coke  indicates  a  dry 
coal,  not  fusing  at  all  in  the  fire.  These  qualities  will  exist,  to  a 
certain  extent,  in  the  coke  made  by  practical  process,  though  the 
slower  the  process  of  coking  is  effected,  the  larger  the  masses  coked 
at  a  time,  and  the  higher  and  longer  continued  the  heat  at  the  close 
of  the  process,  the  firmer  and  closer  will  be  the  texture  of  the  coke, 
and  the  better  it  will  bear  transportation.  • 

The  last  determination,  the  ashes,  also  deserves  some  notice.  If 
more  than  five  per  cent,  of  ashes  exists  in  the  raw  coal,  it  can 
scarcely  be  considered  fit  for  the  blast-furnace,  since  this  amount  is 
doubled  in  the  coke. 

The  composition  of  the  ash  is  also  of  importance  as  a  means  of 
judging  whether  or  not  the  coal  will  "clinker,"  i.  e.,  the  ashes  fuse 
and  form  solid  glassy  masses  like  "slag,"  which  adheres  firmly  to 
the  grate  bars  of  steam  boiler  and  locomotive  furnaces,  or  to  the 
sides  of  close  furnaces  and  stoves.  If  the  'ashes  form  much  clinker, 
it  is  a  great  drawback  to  several  practical  uses.  The  property  of 
forming  "clinker"  is  dependent  upon  the  presence  in  ashes  of  cer- 
tain substances,  which,  at  high  temperatures,  form  a  species  of  crude 
glass.  This  glass  is  formed  by  the  combination  of  potash,  soda, 
lime  and  oxide  of  iron,  with  silica.  It  is  for  the  most  part  a  large 
proportion  of  lime  and  oxide  of  iron  in  the  ash,  which  forms  with 
the  silica,  always  present,  the  clinker.  Many  coals  contain  much 
lime,  combined  with  sulphuric  acid,  to  form  gypsum,  filling  the 
natural  joints,  and  if  the  coal  at  the  same  time  contains  much 
"pyrites,"  or  bi-sulphuret  of  iron,  which  during  its  combustion  loses 
its  sulphur,  and  leaves  peroxyde  of  iron,  the  materials  from  which 
to  form  clinker  are  furnished.  It  requires  a  high  temperature  to 
fuse  these  ingredients  into  a  slag,  and  hence  many  coals  which  form 
no  clinker  in  open  grates,  and  are  highly  esteemed  for  domestic 
purposes,  are  totally  useless  in  the  high  temperatures  of  the  rever- 
beratory  furnace  for  remelting  iron,  or  even  for  locomotive  use.  The 
color  of  the  ash  furnishes  a  correct  mode  of  judging  of  the  propor- 
tion of  iron  contained  in  the  coal,  and  as  most  of  it  exists  in  the 
raw  coal  as  iron  pyrites,  it  gives  a  tolerably  reliable  means  Of  judg- 
ing of  the  relative  amount  of  sulphur.  The  dark  red  and  brown 


204  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

ashes  contain  the  most  iron,  and  the  pink,  ochre,  fawn-colored,  and 
gray,  indicate  diminishing  proportions  of  iron.  The  white  ash  coals 
seldom  clinker,  and  contain  comparatively  little  sulphur. 

In  making  the  analysis  grouped  in  the  table,  the  sulphur  was  not 
specially  estimated,  simply  because  no  two  specimens  from  the  same 
vein  will  ever  yield  the  same  result.  To  obtain  any  satisfactory 
result  as  regards  the  proportion  of  sulphur  in  the  coal  of  any  seam, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  take  considerable  quantities  from  different 
parts  of  the  seam,  and,  grinding  the  whole  to  powder,  mingle  the 
powder  of  the  different  portions  thoroughly,  and  thus  form  an  aver- 
age. This  is  the  mode  pursued  in  obtaining  averages  of  the  value 
of  copper  and  other  ores. 

Ultimate  Analysis  of  Coals. — By  this  is  meant  the  complete  sepa- 
ration of  the  elementary  constituents  of  the  combustible  matter  of 
the  coal.  The  strict  application  of  the  term  would  also  require  the 
separation  of  the  elements  constituting  the  ash,  but  this  is  seldom 
performed  or  required. 

The  ultimate  constituents,  or  elementary  bodies  composing  all  coals, 
are  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen,  nitrogen  and  sulphur. 

The  two  last  named  may,  for  most  practical  purposes,  be  disre- 
garded. 

The  value  of  this  mode  of  analysis  may  be  judged  of  from  what  was 
said  of  the  mode  of  estimating  the  absolute  heating  power  of  any  fuel. 
Ultimate  analysis  alone  can  furnish  the  basis  for  the  calculations. 

Ultimate  analysis  receives  an  additional  value  from  the  results 
obtained  from  the  valuable  experiments  of  Professor  PETER,  as  reported 
in  volume  2,  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Kentucky.  He  finds  that 
the  quantity  of  valuable  oil  obtained  from  different  specimens  of 
coal,  which  he  submitted  to  a  carefully  conducted  distillation,  bears 
a  certain  proportion  to  the  amount  of  hydrogen.  I  take  the  liberty 
of  inserting  here  several  analyses  of  several  cannel  coals  reported  by 
him,  and  the  amount  of  crude  oil  which  he  obtained  from  them. 

As  the  type  of  oil  yielding  coals,  the  Scotch  Boghead  cannel  takes 
precedence,  and  is  placed  first  in  the  following  table  of  ultimate 
analyses  of  oil  yielding  coals : 


CHEMICAL    KEPOET. 


205 


Q 

w 

03 

a 

O 

h, 

Q 

. 

O 

O 

£ 

t-i. 

05 

r?B 

o 

p 

^7- 

a1 

S" 

^3 

p3  CL 

7  5 

| 

Designation  of  Coal. 

0 

p 

O 

9 

e 

5 

P 

a>  . 
p 

05 

p* 

«o 

I! 

Q 

i 

Q 
g 

* 

• 

i—  O 

P 

o 

s  ^ 

p 

MR 

• 

O 

«• 

'      ^ 

tf 

; 

§ 

:  ? 

CD 

Boghead  coal,  Scotland  

65.34 

9.12 

0.15 

0.71 

5.46 

18.68 

Breckenridge  cannel,  Ky.. 

68.128 

6.489 

2.476 

2.264 

5.833 

12.3fl 

318.0 

52.10 

455 

445  good. 

Haddock's  cannel,  Ky  

76.790 

6.177 

0.241 

13.791 

3.00 

248.5 

54.50 

589 

370  very  gd 

From  this  table  we  perceive  that  the  greater  amount  of  hydrogen 
the  larger  the  proportion  of  oil  obtained.  We  derive  from  this  that 
ultimate  anlaysis  will  give  indications  of  value  as  regards  their  use- 
fulness for  oil  manufacture.  This  branch  of  industry  is,  however, 
so  new,  and  all  facts  in  regard  to  the  manufacture  are  so  strictly 
concealed  by  those  who  find  their  interest  in  preventing  its  exten- 
sion, that  it  is  impossible  yet  to  present  all  the  economical  consid- 
erations connected  with  it.  This  much  may,  however,  be  stated, 
that  in  locations  where  there  is  no  present  or  prospective  demand 
for  coke,  the  cannel  coals  which  are  the  richest  in  hydrogen,  alone 
can  be  economically  used;  in  other  localities  where  coke  is  in  large 
demand  it  becomes  a  matter  of  calculation  and  experiment  to  ascer- 
tain whether  or  not  some  of  the  ordinary  bituminous  coals,  which 
yield  less  oil  but  more  and  better  coke  than  the  cannels,  may  not 
be  made  available  for  the  manufacture  of  oils.  It  also  remains  for 
experiment  to  determine  whether  the  oils  derived  from  the  ordinary 
bituminous  coals,  are  the  same  or  as  valuable  as  those  from  can- 
nel. It  is  only  by  a  carefully  conducted  series  of  practical  analyses 
of  a  large  variety  of  coals,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  proper  con- 
ditions for  extracting  the  largest  amount  of  crude  oil,  and  the  further 
practical  analysis  of  the  crude  oils,  to  determine  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  the  several  oils  contained  in  the  crude  oil,  that  this  ques- 
tion can  be  solved. 

This  brings  me  to  speak  of  the  objects  and  the  value  of  practical 
analyses  of  coals.  The  objects  of  this  mode  of  chemical  examina- 
tion are  various,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  use  to  which  the 
location  of  the  coal  seam  directs  its  special  application.  The  object 
in  view  may  be  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  coke  in  view  of  its 
application  to  iron  manufacture ;  it  may  be  the  amount  and  quality 
and  ease  of  purification  of  the  gas  furnished  by  the  coal,  which  is 
desired  to  be  known.  Deductions  of  value,  it  is  true^may  be  fur- 
nished by  the  proximate  or  ultimate  analysis  of  the  coal,  as  before 


206  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

indicated,  but  the  variety  of  characters  of  the  coal,  which  may  mod- 
ify the  practical  results,  are  so  numerous,  that  the  actual  produc- 
tion of  the  coke,  gas  or  oils,  on  a  scale  of  more  or  less  magnitude, 
will  alone  determine  absolutely  the  value  of  the  coal  for  the  special 
application  proposed. 

Analytical  chemists  are  so  seldom  called  upon  to  perform  practical 
experiments  of  this  character,  that  their  laboratories  are  not  usually 
provided  with  the  requisite  apparatus  to  conduct  the  investigation 
on  a  sufficiently  large  scale  to  give  it  practical  value. 

Provision  should  be  made  in  the  chemical  departments  of  all  geo- 
logical surveys  made  under  the  auspices  of  States,  which  owe  much 
of  their  mineral  wealth  to  their  coal  deposits,  to  secure  an  extensive 
series  of  examinations  of  this  character.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
Legislature  of  Illinois  will  sufficiently  appreciate  the  value  of  such 
researches,  as  to  make  appropriations  sufficient  to  permit  of  having 
made  for  the  next  report  a  series  of  practical  examinations  of  all 
the  important  coals  of  the  State. 


CHEMICAL    EEPOET. 


207 


STATEMENT  of  results  of  the  Analyses  of  Coal  specimens  as  furnished  for  that  purpose  by  A.  H.  Worthen,  Esq., 
State  Geologist,  as  follows  : 

AVEEAGE  COMPOSITION. 

Coke  . 

OOO?i(M 

to  to  ^o  ?o 

"§ 
OQ 

1 

00 

"«i 

1 

5^  S! 
II 

§1 

I 

1 

<*> 

"I 

H 
H 

s 

H 
OQ 

REMARKS. 

The  Chadsey  place  iron  ore  is  an  argillaceous  carbonate  of  iron, 
of  excellent  quality,  comparing  favorably  wiih  the  Pennsylvania  ores 
—the  analysis  of  one  of  the  best  of  which  is  given  in  the  adjoining 
column. 

The  under-clay,  from  Dilse  &  Co.'s  coal,  is  a  good  flre-clay,  though 
(from  excess  of  iron)  inferior  to  that  in  the  adjoining  column,  which 
is  one  of  the  best. 

Carbon     

5O  S  CM  OO 

Bitumen  

SIS 

Ash        

3333 

Water  

2235 

H 
M 
O 
0 

Second 
determination. 

SHI 

First 
determination. 

ssss 

As] 

i  

0ir-  IrHOO 

WA 

TEE  

wi<Oi-o'ui 

CAEBON. 

Second 
determination. 

i—  •  tDOO  '•£> 

cqcciooo 

First 
determination. 

rH  OO  Oi  00 

BITUMEN. 

Second 
determination. 

CO  CO  CO  CO 

First 
determination. 

SSI 

Fire-clay  used  at 
Birmingham,  Eng., 
in  making  glass- 
melting  pots,  ana- 
lyzed by  C.  Cooker. 

OU9       MOOO^K 

§ 

_             £JO<0 

Dilse  &  Co.'s  coal,  near  Coatsburg.  Adams  county.  Ill  
Piper's  coal,  two  miles  north  of  Canton,  Fulton  county,  111  
John  Winter-bottom's  coal,  1%  miles  south  of  Cuba,  Fulton  county,  111..... 
Eft'nour's  coal,  near  Cuba,  Fulton  county,  111  

Under-clay  from 
Dilse  &  Co.'s  coal, 
near  Coatsburg, 
Adams  county,  111.. 

r-»r>-o  r»t^-     C3 

*&-&)  t1*  *OO  .     OO 

s 

IH 

-H  z%  s 

Argillaceous  iron  ore 
from  Pennsylvania, 
analyzed  by  Profes- 
sor Rogers  

a88fcS83SS 

§ 

| 

cgcc^     rtjg« 

Iron  ore  from  Chad- 
sey's  place,  Schuy- 
ler  county,  111  

rl  to  00  •*  •*        t^- 
CO  r-l  -*  06  -*        K 

§' 

(MrHl-HOOO        ^ 

• 

::::::::: 

P  eroxyd  of  iron  „  
Protoxyd  of  iron  
Lime  
Magnesia  
Silica  
Alumina  
Water  
Carbonic  acid  
Bitumen  

208 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


CHEMICAL   REPORT   OF 

TABLE  III- 


County. 

Specific  gravity. 

Weight  of  a  cubic 
foot  

Moisture  

Volatile  combus- 
tible matter... 

Carbon  in  coke.. 

1 

o> 
S 

Total  volatile 
matter  

Q 

0 

ff 

» 

Color  of  Ashes. 

BUBEAU: 

1.2594 
1.3160 

1.3349 
1.4005 

78.4858 
82.0131 

83.1910 

87.2792 

12.4 
11.2 

8.8 
5.2 

8.0 

28.4 
28£ 

29.8 
28.6 
33.4 

54.0 
57.6 

51  8 
49.0 
51.4 

5.2 
2.4 

9.6 
17.2 
7.2 

40.8 
40.0 

38.6 
33.8 

59.2 
60.0 

61.4 
66.2 
58.6 
60.8 
59.2 
73.2 
62.4 
59.2 
59.6 
61.8 
60.4 

67.0 
61.2 
61.0 
61.2 
68.4 

58.6 
63.2 

63.6 
62.6 
62.0 
59.1 
60.4 
60.8 
57.0 
61.2 
59.4 

63.0 
58.8 
67.6 
59.2 
61.4 
60  8 
62.8 
61.8 
62.2 
62.8 
(53.2 
65.2 
63.4 

62.6 
61.0 
60.2 
62.0 
61.4 
62.6 
60.2 
60.2 
64.8 

61.6 
65.4 
60.0 
61.4 

68.4 
64  9 
63.4 
63.2 

Pinkish-gray...    . 

Nearly  white  

MEBCEB: 

Fawn. 

Pinkish-gray  

Nearly  white  

1.2440 
1.2167 
1.5860 
1.2594 
1.2755 
1  .3089 
1.3021 
1.2594 

1  3157 

77.5261 
74.8147 
98.8395 
78.4858 
79.4892 
81.5706 
81.1469 
78.4858 

81.9944 
77.5071 
79.4892 
81.5706 
89.7969 

76.5601 
86.0764 

76.5601 
80.5174 
79.4895 
79.4892 
81.5112 
78.4858 
78.4858 
80,5922 
77,9000 

81.5706 
78.8473 
84.9048 
82.2125 
76.5074 
78.4858 
78  84V3 

8.0 
10.0 
8.0 
6.8 
10.8 
9.2 
6.0 
8.4 

10.0 

10.8 
6.0 
8.0 
2.8 

11.2 

8.4 

11.2 

9.6 
10.4 
11.6 
8.8 
12.0 
5.6 
8.8 
9.2 

11.2 

9.6 
10.0 
10.0 
12.8 
9.6 
11.2 
12.0 
12.0 
12.0 
10.8 
8  0 

31.2 
30.8 
19.2 
30.8 
30.0 
31.2 
32.2 
31.2 

23.0 
28.4 
33.0 
30.8 
28.8 

30.2 
28.4 

25.2 
27.8 
27.6 
29.3 
30.8 
27.2 
37.4 
30.0 
31.4 

35.8 
31.6 
22.  ( 
30.8 
25.8 
29.6 
26.0 
26.2 
25.8 
25.2 
26.0 
26  8 

56.4 
56.8 
35.6 
53.2 
55.2 
52.4 
56.2 
54.8 

58.6 
56,4 
53.4 
54.4 
44.0 

55.8 
52.4 

61.6 
61.0 
55.2 
55.9 
58.0 
55.2 
53.6 
57.2 
55.0 

51.8 
54.8 
56.8 
56.4 
58.6 
59.6 
60.4 
59.8 
59.0 
53.2 
55.6 
56  0 

4.4 
24 
37.2 
9.2 
4  0 
7.2 
5.6 
5.6 

8.4 
4.4 
7.6 
6.8 
24.4 

2.8 
10.8 

2.0 
1.6 
6.8 
3.2 
2.4 
5.6 
3.4 
4.0 
4.4 

11.2 

4.0 
10.8 
2.8 
2.8 
1.2 
2.4 
2.0 
3.2 
9.6 
7.6 
9  2 

39.2 
40.8 
27.2 
37.6 
40.8 
40.4 
38.2 
39.6 

33.0 
39  2 
39.0 
38.8 
31  6 

41.4 
36.8 

36.4 
37.4 
38.0 
40.9 
39.6 
39.2 
43.0 
38.8 
40.6 

37.0 
41  2 
32.4 
40.8 
38.6 
39.2 
37.2 
38.2 
.37.8 
37.2 
36.8 

Nearly  white. 

Fawn. 

Nearly  white  

Dark  gray. 

Ochre. 

Nearly  white  

Dark  gray. 

Fawn. 

WABBEN: 

Ochre 

1.2437 
1.2755 
1.3089 
1.4409 

1.2285 
1.3812 

1.2285 
1.2920 
K2755 
1.2755 
1.2919 
1.2594 
1.2594 
1.2932 
1.2500 

1.3089 
1.2652 
1.3624 
1.3192 
1.2437 
1  2594 
1.2652 
1.3088 
1.3022 
1.322S 
1.308S 

Cinnamon 

Lilac      .         .    .... 

Ochre.        

Dark  gray 

MABSHAL.L: 

Light  gray 

Fawn  

KNOX: 

Dove  

Pinkish-gray.. 

................ 

Dove              

Ochre  

Light  gray 

Pinkish-gray  

Fawn.            

Pinkish-gray 

Nearly  white    

PEOBIA: 

Nearly  white 

Lilac              

Ochre          

Nearly  white 

Light  gray        

Dove               

Dove 

!  . 

81.570b 
81.1531 
82.4369 
81.5706 

Nearly  white  . 

t  

Dove 

>  .... 

Fawn  

)  .  . 

Nearly  white    

Nearly  white  

.. 
>  

1.3812 

1.2437 
1.243J 
1.269( 
1.2854 
1.292C 
1.309( 
1.207" 
1.388* 
1.220' 

1.319; 

1.3441 
1.259^ 
1.277< 

1.3815 
1.351, 
1.278( 
1.227< 

86.0764 

77.5076 
77.5198 
79.0841 
80.1061 
:      80  5174 

10.0 

10.0 
10.8 
10.0 
12.0 
10.8 
10.0 
11.2 
6.8 
10.0 

10.8 
11.2 
10.8 
10.8 

9.0 
7.4 

7.0 
8.0 

26.6 

27.4 
28.2 
29.8 
26.0 
27.8 
27.4 
28.6 
33.0 
25.2 

27.6 
23.4 

29.2 

27.8 

22.6 
27.8 
29.6 
28.8 

53.0 

55.0 
55.0 
55.8 
57.6 
56.2 
54.6 
58.2 
43.4 
56.0 

53.2 
56.2 
58.2 
59.S 

56.6 
58.4 
58.2 
58.fl 

10.4 

7.6 
6.0 
4.4 
4.4 

5.2 
8.0 
2.0 
16.8 

8.« 

8.4 
9.2 
1.8 
l.« 

12.4 

6.4 
5.2 
5.2 

34.8 

37.4 

39.0 
39.8 
38.0 
38.6 
37.4 
39.8 
39.8 
35.2 

38.4 
34.6 
40.0 
38.6 

31.6 
36.6 
36.6 
36.8 

Nearly  white  

LASALLE: 

J  ... 

Fawn  

I  

Lilac... 

Lilac  

Cinnamon  

• 

Cinnamon            

?   . 

81.5769 
>      75.2639 
!       86.5500 
1       76.0865 

t      82.2188 
83  7643 

Light  gray  

)  

Dove  

)  

Cinnamon         

1  

Cinnamon  

GBUNDT: 

2  ... 

Cinnamon  
Lilac 

i 

t  

I       78.4858 
!       79.0291 

i       86.0764 
>,      84.2255 
i       79.6824 
(       76.592fc 

Light  gray       

5  

Dove  

RANDOLPH  : 

; 

Cinnamon 

7  

Lilac  

3.. 

ILilac         

j  

Nearly  white 

CHEMICAL   KEPORT. 

GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY. 

COALS. 


209 


Quality  of  Coke. 


Designation. 


Cellular  slightly  swollen. 
Close,  not  swollen 


Close,  not  swollen 

Pulverulent  between  fingers  .. 

Cellular  not  swollen 

Cellular  slightly  swollen 

Cellular  much  swollen 

Pulverulent 

Cellular  not  swollen 

Cellular  not  swollen 

Cellular  not  much  swollen ! 

Cellular  swollen 

Pulverulent  between  fingers... 


Sheffield  Coal  Company,  below  the  clay  seam. 
Sheffield  Coal  Company — above  the  clay  seam. 

Carnahan's  Mine— bottom  part. 
Carnahan's  Mine— below  slate  in  centre. 
Carnahan's  Mine— just  above  slate  in  centre. 
Carnahan's  mine— upper  part  of  seam. 
Collins' Mine — lower  part  of  seam. 
Collins'  Mine— middle  part  of  seam. 
Collins'  Mine— upper  part  of  seam. 
Peas'  Mine — town  of  Suez,-30-inch  seam. 
Shoemaker's  Mine— lower  part. 
Shoemaker's  Mine — middle  part. 
Shoemaker's  Mine— upper  part,  4  feet. 


Pulverulent  between  fingers... \G.  W.  Mier's  Mine— town  of  Spring  Grove. 

Cellular  slightly  swollen Bliss'  Mine— near  Avon. 

Cellular  slightly  swollen W.  H.  Smith's  Mine— Spring  Grove— lower  part. 

Close,  not  swollen JW.  H.  Smith's  Mine— Spring  Grove,  upper  part. 

Pulverulent Chambers,  Town  &  Co. 's  Mine — near  Avon. 

Cellular  swollen William  Fisher's  Mine — Lacon  Station,  3  feet  7  inch  seam- 
Close,  not  swollen William  Fisher's  Mine— Lacon  station,  upper  pt.  of  3-ft.sm. 

Cellular  swollen 

Cellular  much  swollen 

Cellular  swollen 

Cellular  not  swollen 

Cellular  much  swollen 

Close,  not  swollen 

Cellular  swollen 

Cellular  swollen 

Cellular  swollen 


Cellular  moderately  swollen  .. 

Cellular  much  swollen 

Pulverulent 

Cellular  swollen 

Cellular  much  swollen 

Cellular  swollen 

Cellular  much  swollen 

Cellular  much  swollen 

Cellular  swellen 

Cellular  not  swollen 

Close,  not  swollen 

Close,  not  swollen 

Cellular  not  swollen 


J.  Bursan's  Mine— bottom  of  seam  No.  2.  of  Peoria  county. 
J.  Bursan's  Mine— upper  pt.  of  sm.  No.  2,  Kickapoo  coal  sni. 
Barbus'  Mine— near  Maquon. 
Oneida  Mine— Camp  &  Powel — below  clay  seam. 
Oneida  Mine— Camp  &  Powel— above  clay  seam. 
Oneida  Mine— Camp  &  Powel — upper  part  of  upper  seam. 
Benjamin  Sinn's  Mine— lower  part  of  6  feet  seam. 
Benjamin  Sinn's  Mine— lower  part  of  6  ft.  seam,  2d  sample 
Benjamin  Sinn's  Mine-  middle  part. 

Aikin's  Mine— lower  past  of  seam  No.  1. 

Aikin's  Mine— middle. 

Aikin's  Mine— upper. 

Hammet's  3  feet  seam. 

R.  Howard's  Mine— lower  2  feet,  seam  No.  2. 

K.  Howard's  Mine— middle. 

K.  Howard's  Mine— upper  18  inches. 

Phelps'  Mine— middle  of  seam  No.  2. 

Phelps'  Mine— top. 

Isaac  Brown's  land  coal  seam  No.  3. 

S.  S.  Edwards'  Mine— middle  seam  No.  1. 

8.  S.  Edwards'  Mine— 2d  sample. 

S.  S.  Lawrence's  Mine— top  of  seam  No.  1. 

Cellular  slightly  swollen. Little  Vermilion— Hockwell  &  Lathrop's  Mine— coal  seam 

Cellular  much  swollen Peru  shaft— lower  part  of  seam  No.  1.  [No.  1 . 

Cellular  moderately  swollen  .  JPeru  shaft— middle  part. 

Cellular  swollen jPeru    haft— top  part. 

Cellular  slightly  swollen Northern  Illinois  Coal  Company— seam  No.  1. 

„>.-. 11 —      North.  111.  Coal  Co— seam  No.  2,  middle  2d  vein,  lower  part. 

North.  Ill,  Coal  Co— seam  No.  3,  lower  part  of  top  of  1st  vein 
North.  111.  Coal  Co.— thin  layer  at  top  of  seam  No.  2. 
Geo.  W,  Feels'  Mine— lower  LaSalle  coal  seam. 

Geo.  Riddle's  Mine— 136  miles  south  of  Morris— upper  part 
Geo.  Riddle's  Mine— 2}£  miles,  etc.  '     [best. 

A.  Crum's  Mine— 2  miles  northeast  of  Morris. 
P.  W.  Gates'  Mine— 132  miles  above  Morris. 


Cellular  moderately  swollen  .. 

Cellular  swollen 

Not  swollen,  pulverulent. 
Cellular  not  swollen 


Close,  not  swollen 

Cellular  slightly  swollen. 
Cellular  slightly  swollen. 
Cellular  slightly  swollen. 


/erulent  between  the  flng'rs  Pope's  coal 


Pulv^ 

Cellular  moderately  swollen  .. 
Cellular  moderately  swollen  .. 
Cellular  slightly  swollen 


—lower  stratum. 
Pope's  coal— middle. 
Pope's  coal— upper. 
Boyd's  Mine— top  coal. 


—14 


CHAPTEE    IX. 

GEOLOGY  QF  KANDOLPH  COUNTY. 


This  county  is  located  on  the  southwest  borders  of  the  State,  and 
comprises  an  irregular  district  of  country,  triangular  in  outline,  and 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Monroe,  St.  Clair  and  Washington  counties, 
on  the  east  by  Perry  and  Jackson  counties,  and  on  the  south  and 
west  by  the  Mississippi  river  and  Monroe  county.  It  embraces  a 
superficial  area  of  about  sixteen  townships,  or  five  hundred  and 
seventy-six  square  miles.  It  is  intersected  from  north  to  south,  on 
the  western  border,  by  the  Okaw  or  Kaskaskia  river,  which  empties 
into  the  Mississippi  about  ten  miles  above  the  south  line  of  the 
county,  and  on  the  east  it  is  also  traversed  in  the  same  direction 
by  Mary's  river,  which  enters  the  Mississippi  about  four  miles  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Okaw.  In  addition  to  these,  we  find  Horse  creek 
and  Nine  Mile  creek,  which  are  tributary  to  the  Okaw,  traversing  the 
northern  portion  of  the  county,  and  the  Little  Mary,  a  tributary  of 
Mary's  river,  intersecting  the  southern  portion.  These  streams,  with 
some  others  of  less  note,  furnish  this  county  with  an  abundant  supply 
of  water. 

The  topographical  features  of  the  county  are  somewhat  varied. 
About  one-third  of  its  surface,  comprising  the  northeastern  portion, 
has  a  comparatively  level,  or  gently  rolling  surface,  sufficiently  undu- 
lating, however,  to  furnish  an  effectual  surface  drainage,  and  com- 
prises all  the  prairie  region  in  the  county.  The  prairies  in  this 
portion  of  the  State  are  small,  and  possess  a  loamy  soil  of  a  choco- 
late-brown color,  with  a  yellow  clay  sub-soil.  These  prairie  lands, 
although  not  possessing  the  deep  black  soil  so  characteristic  of  the 
prairies  in  the  central  and  northern  portions  of  the  State,  are,  never- 
theless, very  productive,  yielding  good  crops  of  corn,  wheat,  barley, 
oats  and  grass,  without  manure,  and  may  perhaps  be  considered  as 


RANDOLPH   COUNTY.  211 

equal,  in  productive  qualities,  to  the  average  of  the  prairie  soils  of 
the  State.  The  prairie  region  is  restricted,  mainly,  to  that  portion 
of  the  county  underlaid  by  the  Coal  Measures. 

Between  this  prairie  region  and  the  bottom  lands  on  the  Okaw  and 
the  Mississippi  river  there  is  a  belt  of  country  that  is  underlaid  by 
the  sandstones,  shales  and  limestones  of  the  Chester  group,  which  is 
quite  broken  and  hilly.  This  portion  of  the  county  was  covered  with 
timber  in  its  normal  condition,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  its  sur- 
face is  still  occupied  by  the  -natural  forests.  The  soil  upon  these 
timbered  and  broken  lands  does  not  appear  to  differ  very  much,  in 
its  appearance  or  productive  qualities,  from  that  of  the  adjacent 
prairies ;  and  where  the  lands  are  sufficiently  level  to  be  cultivated, 
good  crops  are  usually  obtained.  The  yellow  clay  sub-soil  of  this 
region  appears  to  possess  all  the  essential  elements  of  a  good  soil, 
and  when  brought  to  the  surface  and  subjected  to  atmospheric  agen- 
cies, it  becomes  quite  productive.  Hence,  deep  and  thorough  plowing 
that  will  bring  this  sub-soil  to  the  surface,  and  intermingle  it  with 
the  partially  worn  out  surface  soil,  will  no  doubt  be  found  greatly 
beneficial  to  those  soils  that,  from  long  and  injudicious  cultivation, 
have  become  partially  exhausted. 

These  broken  lands  are  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  every  kind 
of  fruit  suited  to  a  temperate  climate,  and  peaches,  apples,  pears 
and  all  the  smaller  fruits  may  be  successfully  cultivated,  even  where 
the  lands  are  two  hilly  for  the  cultivation  of  the  cereals.  Some  of 
the  enterprising  German  citizens  of  this  country  have  already  com- 
menced the  cultivation  of  the  grape,  and  the  manufacture  of  native 
wines,  and  have,  so  far,  met  with  good  success.  It  is  still  a  ques- 
tion, whether  the  Catawba  will  succeed  as  well  here  as  at  more 
northern  localities ;  but  other  varieties,  as  the  Norton's  Virginia, 
Concord,  Delaware,  etc.,  may,  no  doubt,  be  successfully  cultivated 
here.  The  Catawba  seems  to  be  less  liable  to  be  affected  by  mildew 
or  rot,  in  a  climate  as  cold  as  it  can  stand  without  protection,  than 
in  a  comparatively  mild  one,  and  hence  its  cultivation  in  Southern 
Illinois  has  generally  proved  a  partial  failure,  while  at  localities 
much  farther  north  it  has  been  comparatively  successful.  That  the 
broken  and  hilly  lands  along  our  principal  streams,  especially  the 
bluffs  of  the  Mississippi,  and  some  other  large  rivers,  where  the 
marly  deposit  known  as  "loess"  has  been  deposited,  and  is  more  or 
less  intermingled  with  the  soil,  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  growth 
of  the  vine,  is  no  longer  a  doubtful  problem,  and  the  labors  of  the 
intelligent  agriculturist  have  already  demonstrated  the  fact,  that  Illi- 
nois is  capable  of  producing,  not  only  all  the  native  wines  required 


212  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

for  home  consumption,  but  also  a  large  surplus  for  the  supply  of 
less  favored  regions.  When  pure  native  wines  can  be  so  easily  pro- 
duced in  our  own  State,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  time  is  not  remote 
when  its  use  will  entirely  supersede  the  nauseous  and  dangerous  com- 
pounds that  are  now  so  commonly  sold  under  the  name  of  imported 
wines.  Viewed  exclusively  as  a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents,  there  is 
no  other  product  of  the  earth,  the  cultivation  of  which  has  been 
attempted  in  this  portion  of  the  State,  that  will  afford  as  liberal  a 
return  for  the  labor  expended,  as  maybe  obtained  by  the  cultivation 
of  the  grape,  and  the  time  must  surely  come,  and  that  at  no  very 
remote  period,  when  all  these  broken  lands  now  lying  waste,  and 
regarded  as  of  little  value  except  for  the  timber  they  afford,  will  be 
covered  with  vineyards,  affording  employment  and  sustenance  to  a 
healthy,  moral  and  happy  population. 

The  general  elevation  of  these  lands  above  the  Mississippi,  is  from 
three  to  four  hundred  feet.  The  principal  varieties  of  timber  that 
they  afford  are,  black  oak,  white  oak  and  scarlet  oak,  shell  bark 
and  pig-nut  hickory,  sugar  maple,  linden,  black-gum,  persimmon, 
red,  slippery  and  white  elm,  black  ash,  red-bud,  dogwood  and  sas- 
safras. On  the  bottom  lands  in  this  county  we  find  sycamore, 
cottonwood,  honey-locust,  hackberry,  box- elder,  sweet  gum,  white 
ash,  swamp  oak,  burr  oak,  white  and  black  walnut,  pecan  and  white 
maple.  On  the  bank  of  the  river,  between  Chester  and  the  mouth 
of  Mary's  river,  we  saw  a  magnificent  specimen  of  the  American 
Wistaria,  in  full  bloom,  on  the  20th  of  May.  Its  stem  was  about 
four  inches  in  diameter,  and  it  attained  a  height  of  from  thirty  to 
forty  feet.  This  is  the  only  locality  in  the  State  where  we  have 
seen  this  magnificent  climber,  except  in  the  gardens  of  the  horti- 
culturist. 

Surface  Geology. — The  surface  deposits  of  this  county  comprise  the 
three  usual  sub-divisions  of  the  Quaternary  system,  designated  as 
alluvium,  loess  and  drift.  The  most  important  alluvial  deposit  in 
the  county  is  that  known  as  the  American  Bottom,  which  com- 
mences on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mississippi,  just  below  the  city 
of  Alton,  and  extends  southward  to  the  mouth  of  the  Okaw,  form- 
ing a  belt  of  rich  alluvial  bottom  land  in  this  county  about  twenty 
miles  in  length  and  about  four  miles  in  average  width.  This  belt 
of  bottom  land  is  exceedingly  productive,  and  were  it  not  for  the 
periodical  overflows  to  which  it  is  subjected  from  the  high  waters 
of  the  Mississippi,  it  would  be  esteemed  as  the  most  valuable  land 
in  the  county.  A  considerable  portion  of  it  is  only  subject  to  over- 
flow during  seasons  of  extraordinary  high  water,  which  usually 


EANDOLPH    COUNTY.  213 

occurs  once  in  about  seven  years.  Some  portions  of  it,  however, 
are  overflowed  nearly  every  year,  and  are  not  cultivated.  But  these 
swampy  portions  are  gradually  becoming  elevated  above  the  water 
level  by  the  accumulation  of  sediment  deposited  upon  them  by  every 
overflow  of  the  turbid  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and  will  eventually 
become  sufficiently  dry  to  be  susceptible  of  cultivation.  The  soil  on 
these  bottom  lands  is  quite  sandy,  but  is  intermingled  with  humus 
or  vegetable  mould,  and  clay,  from  the  sediments  of  the  river, 
forming  a  rich,  warm  soil  that,  for  the  -production  of  corn  and  the 
cereals  generally,  is  unsurpassed  by  any  in  the  State. 

The  loess  is  a  deposit  of  light  brown  or  buff  siliceous  marl,  some- 
times, also,  quite  calcareous,  as  is  the  case  in  this  county,  and  then 
it  contains  nodules  of  carbonate  of  lime,  that  have  resulted  from  the 
leaching  of  the  calcareous  mass.  It  capps  the  bluffs  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  other  large  streams  in  this  county,  and  is  also  met  with 
in  some  of  the  valleys  in  the  interior  of  the  county,  and  appears  to 
have  a  variable  thickness  of  from  ten  to  sixty  feet,  or  perhaps  at 
some  points  even  more.  It  generally  contains  great  numbers  of 
bleached  shells,  mostly  of  the  fluviatile  species  still  existing  in  the 
adjacent  region.  It  gives  origin  to  the  bald  knobs,  that  are  often 
a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  river  bluffs.  These  are  destitute  of 
timber,  and  are  but  partially  covered  with  scattering  tufts  of  coarse 
grass. 

The  drift  deposits  of  this  county  comprise  a  series  of  brown  and 
yellow  clays,  intermingled  locally  with  gravel  and  small  pebbles, 
spread  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  uplands  and  underlying  the 
loess  where  both  are  present.  Some  large  boulders  of  igneous  and 
metamorphic  rocks  were  seen  in  the  valleys  of  the  streams,  but 
these  are  not  so  numerous  as  they  are  in  the  Central  and  Northern 
portions  of  the  State.  Specimens  of  galena,  resembling  the  ores  of 
Potosi,  Mo.,  are  frequently  found  beneath  the  soil  in  this  county, 
and  if  they  were  transported  by  natural  causes  to  the  spot  where 
they  have  been  found,  they  would  indicate  the  prevalence  of  easterly 
currents  during  the  latter  part  of  the  drift  period.  But  their  prox- 
imity to  the  surface  would  seem  to  render  it  probable  that  they  had 
been  transported  and  dropped  by  human  agency. 

The  stratified  rocks  exposed  at  the  surface  in  this  county  include 
a  portion  of  the  lower  Coal  Measures,  from  the  micaceous  sandstone 
above  coal  No.  6  in  the  general  section,  to  the  base  of  the  measures, 
together  with  the  Chester  group  and  the  St.  Louis  group  of  the 
lower  Carboniferous  limestone  series. 


214  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Coal  Measures. — The  beds  exposed  in  the  county  that  belong  to  the 
Coal  Measures  comprise  a  series  of  micaceous  sandstones,  limestones 
and  shales,  with  two  seams  of  bituminous  coal.  The  thickness  of 
the  whole,  including  the  conglomerate  at  the  base,  probably  does 
not  exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The  following  vertical  sec- 
tion will  show  the  succession  and  comparative  thickness  of  these 
beds  in  this  county : 

Micaceous  sandstone  and  shale 30  to  40  feet 

Band  of  limestone 3 

Shale 12 

Limestone  and  bituminous  shale,  sometimes  replacing  each  other 4  to  6 

Coal  (Belleville) 6  to  8 

Fire-clay  and  nodular  limestone 3  to  6 

Shale  or  shaly  sandstone 30  to  40 

Limestone 3  to  4 

Bituminous  shale 3  to  5 

Coal  No.5  (?) 2  to  4 

Fire-clay 2  to  4 

Shale  and  sandstone  (conglomerate) 50  to  150 

The  western  boundary  line  of  the  Coal  Measures  enters  this  county 
from  the  south,  in  the  western  part  of  township  7  south,  range  5 
west,  and  with  a  general  trend  of  north  northwest  passes  out  of  the 
county,  on  the  north,  in  the  eastern  part  of  township  4  south,  range 
7  west.  They  underlie,  therefore,  about  one-third  of  the  entire  area 
of  the  county,  embracing  the  prairie  region,  which  is  usually  con- 
sidered also  the  best  agricultural  portion  of  the  county.  The  sand- 
stone and  shales  that  form  the  base  of  this  group  of  strata  give 
origin  to  a  more  broken  surface,  along  their  line  of  outcrop,  than 
the  higher  beds.  They  appear  to  be  considerably  thicker  in  the 
southern  than  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  county,  thinning  out 
towards  the  north  with  the  lower  members  of  the  Carboniferous  sys- 
tem. Along  their  outcrop,  which  forms  a  belt  from  two  to  five  miles 
in  width  along  the  western  border  of  the  coal  field  in  this  county,  the 
surface  is  generally  broken,  and  approaches,  in  its  topographical  fea- 
tures, the  belt  of  country  still  farther  west,  that  is  underlaid  by  the 
sandstones,  shales  and  limestones  of  the  Chester  group. 

The  vertical  section  of  the  Coal  Measures  in  this  county  includes 
the  horizon  of  three  coal  seams ;  but  only  two  of  these  appear  to 
be  developed  in  this  county.  These  are  the  Belleville  coal  (No.  6)  and 
a  lower  seam,  probably  No.  5.  The  Belleville  coal  seam  is  very  regular 
in  its  development  in  this  county,  with  an  average  thickness  of  about 
six  feet ;  and,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn  from  the  miners 
engaged  on  this  seam  in  Eandolph  county,  it  appears  to  be  free  from 
the  interruptions  termed  "day-slips"  and  "horse -backs,"  that  some- 


KANDOLPH     COUNTY.  215 

times  prove  to  be  a  serious  impediment  to  the  working  of  this  seam 
in  some  of  the  counties  further  north.  It  almost  invariably  has  a 
good  roof,  composed  either  of  limestone  or  hard  bituminous  shale, 
either  of  which  forms  a  substantial  roof,  and  renders  the  working 
of  the  seam  both  safe  and  economical.  The  coal  from  this  seam  is 
tolerably  hard,  compact,  of  a  bright  color  and  intersected  by  thin 
vertical  seams  of  carbonate  of  lime,  with  some  iron  pyrites  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  seam.  The  two  upper  layers  of  coal  are  generally 
free  from  pyrites,  and  afford  a  good  article  of  smith's  coal.  This 
coal  is  sometimes  underlaid  by  a  thin  bed  of  fire-clay,  but  this  is 
frequently  absent,  and  the  coal  then  rests  directly  on  a  bed  of  nodu- 
lar argillaceous  limestone.  The  limestones,  both  above  and  below  the 
coal,  are  locally  fossiliferous,  though  no  fossils  have  yet  been  found 
in  this  county  in  the  bed  below  the  coal.  The  limestone  over  the 
coal  at  Pope's  coal-bank,  on  Mary's  river,  contains  the  following 
species  of  fossil  shells :  Spirifer  cameratus,  Productus  costastus.  P. 
Prattenianus,  P.  longispinus,  Chonetes  granulifera,  C.  mesoloba,  Hcmi- 
pronites  crassus,  Discina  nitida. 

The  coal  at  Pope's  bank  is  deposited  in  five  distinct  layers,  meas- 
uring respectively  sixteen,  twelve,  fifteen,  sixteen  and  thirteen  inches. 
This  stratified  character  was  observable  at  all  the  localities  visited 
in  this  county,  where  this  seam  had  been  opened.  Pope's  bank  is 
on  section  21,  township  5  south,  range  5  west,  and  is  about  four 
miles  southeast  of  Sparta.  The  outcrop  is  on  the  west  bank  of 
Mary's  river,  only  about  five  feet  above  the  river  bed.  This  seam 
undoubtedly  underlies  all  the  highlands  in  the  northeast  part  of  the 
county,  and  outcrops  on  all  the  small  streams  in  the  vicinity  of 
Sparta,  and  will  probably  be  found  to  underlie  the  town  at  a  depth 
of  not  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet. 

At  Boyd's  coal  bank,  one  mile  west  of  Sparta,  the  coal  is  obtained 
by  a  shaft  sunk  to  the  depth  of  about  fifty  feet,  through  the  follow- 
ing beds : 

Clay  and  gravel 20  feet 

Limestone „ 2    " 

Shale 15    " 

Limestone 5    " 

Coal 6    " 

At  this  bank  the  coal  has  a  slight  easterly  dip,  and  it  presents 
the  same  general  appearance  as  at  Pope's  bank. 

Wood's  coal  bank  is  a  mile  and  a  half  northeast  of  Boyd's,  and 
the  coal  is  mined  by  a  shaft  forty  feet  in  depth.  The  coal  is  six 
feet  thick,  and  is  overlaid  by  bituminous  shale  and  limestone. 


216  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Kitchie's  coal  mine  is  located  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
9,  township  5  south,  range  6  west.  The  coal  is  from  four  feet  to 
four  feet  six  inches  in  thickness,  and  is  overlaid  by  limestone. 
This  is  probably  the  lower  seam,  as  we  infer  from  its  westerly  out- 
crop and  the  thickness  and  general  appearance  of  the  coal,  although 
the  limestone  that  forms  the  roof,  as  well  as  a  nodular  limestone 
below  it,  would  seem  to  ally  it  to  the  Belleville  coal. 

Following  down  the  small  stream  on  which  this  coal  bank  is 
located,  we  found  a  nodular  limestone  underlaid  by  a  band  of  chert 
or  hornstone,  and  the  latter  by  sandy  shales  with  some  concretions 
of  bluish-gray  sandstone  and  ferruginous  and  calcareous  bands,  and 
passing  downward  into  the  sandstone  that  forms  the  base  of  the 
Coal  Measures. 

On  the  east  side  of  Mary's  river  the  Belleville  coal  has  been 
opened  at  several  localities  in  the  vicinity  of  Georgetown.  The 
principal  bank  worked  in  this  vicinity  is  that  of  the  Messrs.  Jones, 
on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  14,  township  6  south,  range  5 
west.  The  coal  in  this  vicinity  lies  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet 
below  the  surface,  and  is  generally  about  six  feet  in  thickness.  At 
Jones'  bank  the  roof  is  a  bituminous  shale,  but  on  Mr.  Doggett's 
place,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  southeast  of  this,  the  roof  is  a  dark-blue 
nearly  black  limestone.  Four  miles  south  of  Georgetown,  on  Mr. 
Steele's  place,  this  seam  outcrops  in  the  bluffs  of  a  branch  of  Cox's 
creek.  The  coal  is  here  said  to  be  six  feet  thick,  though  at  the 
time  of  our  visit  the  old  diggings  were  full  of  water,  so  that  the 
thickness  of  the  coal  could  not  be  accurately  measured.  The  coal 
is  overlaid,  at  this  locality,  by  about  three  feet  of  bituminous  shale, 
and  about  six  feet  of  hard,  dark,  bluish-gray,  irregularly-bedded 
limestone.  Three  miles  northeast  of  Georgetown,  on  the  old  Ander- 
son farm,  this  seam  has  also  been  opened  and  some  coal  taken  out, 
and  it  has  been  found  at  various  other  points,  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  in  sinking  wells,  and  generally  at  a  depth  not  exceeding 
twenty-five  feet  below  the  surface.  Owing  to  the  want  of  proper 
facilities  for  the  transportation  of  these  coals  to  a  good  market,  very 
little  mining  is  done  in  this  part  of  the  county,  at  the  present 
time,  and  this  rich  deposit  of  mineral  wealth  is  quite  unappreciated, 
and  is  only  mined  for  the  local  supply  of  the  neighboring  black- 
smiths, and  one  or  two  steam  mills  in  the  vicinity.* 

*Since  the  original  report  on  this  county  was  published  in  1866,  two  railroads  have  been 
constructed  through  this  county,  furnishing  adequate  transportation  for  its  coal,  as  wel 
as  all  other  products. 


EANDOLPH   COUNTY.  217 

Below  the  nodular  limestone,  under  the  Belleville  coal,  there  is  a 
bed  of  shale  of  variable  thickness  that  intervenes  between  the  two 
coal  seams  as  they  are  developed  in  this  county.  The  lower  coal, 
which  we  have  referred  to  No.  5  of  the  general  section,  is  variable 
in  thickness,  but  always  much  thinner  than  the  Belleville  seam.  It 
outcrops  about  two  miles  south  of  Georgetown,  on  section  22,  town- 
ship 6  south,  range  5  west,  on  the  lands  of  J.  B.  Holmes,  Esq.  It 
is  here  from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet  in  thickness,  and  is  overlaid 
by  bituminous  shale  and  a  thin  band  of  brown  limestone.  Morri- 
son's coal  is  probably  the  same  seam,  and  is  on  section  26,  town- 
ship 5  south,  range  6  west.  The  coal  is  from  three  to  four  feet 
thick  at  this  locality,  and  is  overlaid  by  about  five  feet  of  massive, 
light  bluish-gray  limestone.  This  coal  appears  to  be  somewhat 
harder  than  that  from  the  Belleville  seam,  contains  less  carbonate 
of  lime  but  more  pyrites,  though  the  upper  part  of  the  seam  is  said 
to  afford  a  very  good  smith's  coal.  This  seam  is  underlaid  by  fire- 
clay, the  thickness  of  which  was  not  seen,  and  this  passes  down- 
ward into  the  sandy  shale  and  sandstone  that  forms  the  base  of 
the  Coal  Measures.  The  only  fossils  found  in  connection  with  this 
lower  seam  were  a  small  Bdlerophon  and  a  Naticopsis,  obtained  from 
the  band  of  brown  limestone  that  overlies  the  coal  at  the  locality 
two  miles  south  of  Georgetown. 

No  indications  of  the  presence  of  the  lower  coal  seams  were 
observed  in  this  county,  and  it  is  hardly  probable  that  they  will  be 
found  here. 

Chester  Group. — This  important  division  of  the  lower  Carboniferous 
Iime3tone  series  is  well  developed  in  this  county,  and  in  thickness 
exceeds  that  of  all  the  other  groups  in  the  county  combined.  The 
following  vertical  section  will  give  a  general  idea  of  the  comparative 
thickness  and  relative  position  of  the  different  members  of  this  group : 

Gray  compact  siliceous  limestone  No.  1 25  to  30  feet 

Shales  and  shaly  sandstones,  with  fossil  plants — Sigillaria,  Stigmaria,  Lepido- 

dendron  and  Knorrhia,  partially  exposed 80  to  90  " 

Shaly  limestone  No.  2 15  to  18  " 

Massive  brown  sandstone,  presenting  a  speckled  color  whenfreshly  broken..  40  ' ' 

Limestone  No.  3,  upper  bed  at  Chester 40  to  45  " 

Green  and  blue  argillaceous  shales,  with  plates  of  limestone 45  to  70  " 

Arenaceous  and  argillaceous  limestone  No.  4,  sometimes  replaced  with  green 

shale 20  to  30  " 

Massive  and  shaly  sandstone,  speckled  on  a  freshly  broken  surface 15  to  20  " 

Compact  and  granular  gray  limestone  No. 5,  with  intercalations  of  blue,  green 

and  purple  shales;  thickness  about 150  " 

Massive  quartzose  brown  sandstone 120  " 

613    " 

This  group  attains  its  greatest  thickness  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  county,  and  the  upper  divisions  become  considerably  thinner  in 


218  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  aggregate  in  the  extreme  northern  part.  It  composes  the  entire 
river  bluff,  from  a  point  about  two  miles  below  the  old  village  of 
Prairie  du  Eocher  to  the  south  line  of  the  county,  also  the  bluffs  of 
the  Okaw  throughout  its  whole  extent  in  this  county.  We  did  not 
find  either  of  the  two  lower  beds  entirely  exposed  at  a  single  local- 
ity so  that  they  could  be  accurately  measured,  but  the  estimated 
thickness  we  have  assigned  to  them  will  probably  be  found  a  near 
approximation  to  their  average  thickness  in  this  county. 

At  the  city  of  Chester,  the  middle  portion  of  this  group  forms 
the  greater  portion  of  the  river  bluff,  and  the  beds  afford  the  fol- 
lowing section  at  this  point: 

Green  and  purple  shales 8  feet 

Compact  gray  limestone,  in  regular  beds 10  " 

Limestone,  in  irregular  beds,  partly  nodular  and  argillaceous,  and  passing  down- 
ward into  shale . . .- 32  " 

Green  and  blue  argillaceous  shales,  with  thin  plates  of  limestone  and  ferruginous 

bands 70  " 

Compact  gray  limestone,  with  intercalated  beds  of  blue  and  green  clay  shales 82  " 

202  feet 

Above  the  upper  limestone  in  this  section  there  is  a  bed  of  quartzose 
sandstone  that  is  partially  exposed  in  the  hilltops  adjacent  to  the 
city.  This  sandstone  is  overlaid  by  another  limestone  which  may 
be  found  underlying  some  of  the  ridges  between  the  river  bluffs  and 
Gravel  creek,  northeast  of  the  city.  Going  eastward  from  Chester  to 
Georgetown,  the  upper  beds  of  this  group  are  partially  exposed  in 
the  bluffs  of  the  small  streams  beyond  Mary's  river,  but  the  most 
satisfactory  section  of  them  can  be  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Liberty. 
The  thick  bed  of  green  and  blue  shales  in  the  above  section  is  quite 
variable  in  character,  especially  towards  the  base,  where  the  shales 
are  frequently  replaced  with  sandstone  and  limestone.  Not  more 
than  a  hundred  yards  above  the  point  where  the  above  section  was 
made,  there  is  a  bed  of  sandstone  replacing  the  shale  immediately 
above  the  lower  limestone,  and  at  Cole's  Mill,  a  mile  below;  this 
sandstone  is  succeeded  by  an  argillaceous  limestone,  which,  with  the 
sandstone,  occupies  nearly  or  quite  one-half  the  entire  thickness  of 
the  shale.  The  variable  character  of  these  beds  in  their  lithological 
features,  and  the  general  specific  identity  of  the  prevailing  fossils 
through  the  whole  group,  renders  the  identification  of  the  various 
sub-divisions  in  the  local  and  partial  outcrops  a  matter  of  some 
difficulty. 

The  lower  sandstone  of  the  Chester  group  has  heretofore  been 
known  as  the  Ferruginous  sandstone,  but  as  it  presents  no  very  dif- 
ferent lithological  appearance  from  the  other  arenaceous  divisions  of 
this  group,  and  it  seems  proper  that  it  should  be  included  in  the 


RANDOLPH   COUNTY.  219 

Chester  group,  we  have  rejected  the  name  heretofore  used,  prefering 
rather  one  that  will  express  the  true  position  to  which  this  sand- 
stone undoubtedly  belongs.  The  best  exposure  of  this  bed  that  was 
met  with  in  Randolph  county  was  in  the  bluffs,  below  the  village  of 
Prairie  du  Rocher,  where  it  forms  a  rnural  cliff,  commencing  about 
two  miles  below  the  village,  and  extending  down  for  about  four 
miles.  The  elevation  of  this  sandstone  cliff  varies  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  feet.  It  is  usually  tolerably  heavy-bedded,  though  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  outcrop  there  are  some  thin  beds  in  the  lower 
part  that  afford  good  flagstones.  It  is  generally  of  a  rusty  brown 
color  on  the  exposed  surface,  and  when  freshly  broken,  is  speckled* 
from  the  presence  of  the  brown  oxide  of  iron.  This  peculiarity  is 
more  or  less  characteristic  of  all  the  arenaceous  members  of  the 
Chester  group.  It  hardens  by  exposure,  and  forms  a  reliable  build- 
ing stone.  From  the  point  of  its  first  outcrop  in  the  river  bluff,  it 
trends  off  in  a  northerly  direction,  forming  a  narrow  sandstone  belt, 
separating  the  St.  Louis  from  the  lower  Chester  limestone.  No  fos- 
sils have  yet  been  discovered  in  it.  The  general  trend  of  the  river 
bluffs  in  this  county  is  from  northwest  to  southeast,  and  the  easterly 
dip  of  the  strata  causes  the  disappearance  of  the  sub-divisions  of 
the  Chester  group  successively,  by  dipping  below  the  surface,  from 
the  northern  limit  of  the  county  to  its  southern  extremity. 

About  six  miles  below  Prairie  du  Rocher  this  sandstone  dips  below 
the  surface,  and  is  succeeded  by  the  lower  limestone  of  the  Chester 
group.  This  limestone  is  not  well  exposed  on  the  Illinois  side  of  the 
river,  where  it  first  appears,  but  is  mostly  hidden  by  the  sloping 
talus  of  the  hills.  On  the  Missouri  shore,  just  below  St.  Mary's,  it 
is  well  exposed  in  the  river  bluffs,  and  the  lower  portions  of  the 
mass  is  found  to  consist  there  of  coarse,  granular,  brownish-gray 
limestone  in  irregular  beds,  and  partially  concretionary,  overlaid  by 
alternations  of  red  and  green  shales  with  some  sandy  layers.  These 
beds  appear,  from  partial  exposures,  to  be  from  thirty  to  forty  feet 
thick,  and  are  overlaid  by  the  heavy  bed  of  limestone  that  forms  the 
perpendicular  escarpment  of  the  bluff,  just  below  Rozier's  Landing, 
which  is  from  forty  to  fifty  feej;  in  height.  The  lower  portion  of  this 
limestone  above  the  shales  is  semi-oolitic  in  structure,  and  contains 
a  very  interesting  group  of  fossils. 

As  we  approach  the  termination  of  the  bluffs  between  the  Okaw 
and  the  Mississippi,  about  six  miles  above  Kaskaskia,  this  limestone 
becomes  better  exposed,  and  is  found  to  consist  of  brownish-gray 
limestone,  with  intercalated  beds  of  green  and  blue  shales,  the  latter 
from  a  few  inches  to  six  or  seven  feet  in  thickness.  The  limestones 


220  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

are  for  the  most  part  tolerably  heavy-bedded,  though  there  are  always 
some  thin  layers  intercalated  in  the  mass.  It  constitutes  all  the 
limestone  exposures  in  the  river  bluff,  from  the  point  where  the  sand- 
stone disappears,  six  miles  below  Prairie  du  Rocher,  to  the  terminus 
of  the  bluffs  between  the  Okaw  and  the  Mississippi.  At  this  point 
the  top  of  the  limestone  escarpment  is  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  American  Bottom,  and  probably  com- 
prises the  whole  thickness  of  the  lower  limestone,  though  the  lower 
part  was  entirely  hidden  by  a  sloping  talus,  so  that  its  character 
could  not  be  certainly  determined. 

In  the  bluff  on  the  east  side  of  the  Okaw,  opposite  Kaskaskia,  the 
limestone  escarpment  retains  about  the  same  elevation  above  the 
bottom  lands  on  the  river,  though  only  about  forty  feet  of  limestone 
is  seen  at  the  top.  The  exposure  here  consists  of  regularly  bedded 
gray  limestones,  the  beds  varying  from  six  inches  to  two  feet  in 
thickness,  with  a  few  seams  of  clay  shale  interstratified  with  the 
limestone.  At  the  old  Menard  farm,  a  half  mile  below  the  ferry,  the 
lower  portion  of  this  limestone  is  well  exposed  on  the  small  creek 
that  intersects  the  bluffs  at  that  point.  The  lower  division,  as  it 
appears  here,  presents  no  essential  difference  from  the  upper  beds, 
but  the  intercalated  beds  of  shale  are  thicker,  some  of  them  being 
as  much  as  six  or  seven  feet  in  thickness.  They  contain  numerous 
fossils  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation,  among  which  are  Pentemites 
silicates,  P.  godoni,  P.  symmetricus,  P.  pyriformis,  Forbesiocrinus  Whit- 
fieldi,  Zeacrinus  Wortheni,  Z.  spinosus,  Agelacrinus  Kaskaskiensis,  Atlvy- 
ris  subquadrata,  A.  Royissii,  Retzia  vera,  and  Productus  elegans.  It  is 
quite  possible  that  the  upper  part  of  the  limestone  in  the  bluff  east  of 
Kaskaskia,  is  the  limestone  that  comes  in  above  the  lower  bed  at 
Cole's  Mill,  from  which  it  is  there  separated  by  a  bed  of  sandstone 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness. 

From  Menard's  place  to  Chester,  this  limestone  forms  the  lower 
part  of  the  bluff,  while  the  higher  points  contain  the  overlying  shales 
as  well  as  the  third  limestone,  which  forms  the  upper  limestone 
escarpment  at  Chester.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  city  of  Chester  the 
top  of  this  limestone  is  about  eighty  feet  above  the  low  water  level 
of  the  river.  It  is  here  overlaid  by  a  massive  sandstone,  about 
fifteen  feet  thick;  but  in  less  than  fifty  yards  it  passes  into  green 
shale,  that  rests  directly  upon  the  lower  limestone.  The  thickness 
of  this  shale,  measured  just  above  Anderson's  Hotel,  is  about  seventy 
feet,  and  it  is  overlaid  by  the  third  limestone  which  forms  the  upper 
escarpment  in  the  bluff  at  this  point.  It  contains  calcareous  and 
ferruginous  shales  and  thin  sheets  of  limestone,  that  are  thickly 


RANDOLPH    COUNTY.  221 

covered  with  fossil  bryozoa  and  mollusca.  A  ^ferruginous  band  is 
often  found  just  above  the  lower  limestone,  that  contains  fish  teeth 
in  considerable  numbers ;  and  towards  the  lower  end  of  the  city 
there  is  a  band  of  limestone  made  up  almost  entirely  of  the  stems 
of  crinoidea  and  fish  teeth.  It  is  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  or  more 
in  thickness,  and  takes  a  good  polish  and  makes  a  handsome  marble. 
Its  position  appears  to  be  about  midway  in  the  bed  of  green  shale. 
The  calcareous  shales  near  the  bottom  contain  great  numbers  of 
fossils,  among  which  the  most  common  are  Spirifer  bisulcatus,  S. 
Leidyi,  Spiriferina  octoplicata,  Productus  elegans,  Zaphrcntis  spinulosa, 
Archimedes  Swallovana,  Athyris  subquadrata,  A.Rogissii,  Lyropora,  and 
some  othe.r  species  of  bryozoa. 

The  sandstone  which  is  sometimes  intercalated  at  the  base  of  this 
shale,  contains,  at  Chester,  casts  of  a  few  small  shells,  of  the  same 
species  with  those  found  in  the  shales.  It  withstands  the  action  of 
atmospheric  influences,  appears  to  become  harder  on  exposure,  and 
will  no  doubt  form  a  durable  building  stone.  At  Cole's  Mill  this 
sandstone  is  not  so  massive,  and  shades  upward  into  a  sandy  shale. 
The  thickest  layers  in  the  lower  part  of  the  bed  are  only  about  one 
foot  in  thickness.  It  may  be  called  the  third  sandstone  of  the  Ches- 
ter group,  reckoning  from  the  top  downward.  At  Cole's  Mill  it  is 
immediately  overlaid  by  a  limestone  which  is  not  fully  exposed,  but 
appears  to  be  about  thirty  feet  thick.  It  is  partly  shaly  and  argil- 
laceous, and  may  be  considered  as  limestone  No.  4  of  the  Chester 
group.  The  dip  of  the  strata  appears  to  be  nearly  in  the  same 
direction  as  the  trend  of  the  bluffs  from  Chester  .to  the  south  line 
of  the  county,  which  is  to  the  southeast ;  and  in  following  the  bluffs 
down  towards. Liberty,  we  find  the  lower  limestone  passing  below  the 
surface  at  Mary's  river,  which  is  only  about  two  miles  below  Cole's 
Mill,  making  a  southeasterly  dip  of  about  twenty- five  feet  to  the 
mile,  the  top  of  the  lower  limestone  being,  by  measurement,  fifty 
feet  above  low- water  level  at  the  mill. 

About  a  mile  below  Mary's  river  a  section  of  the  bluffs  gives  the 
following  succession  of  strata : 

Calcareous  shales  with  thin  plates  of  brown  limestone,  containing  numerous 
fossils, among  which  are  Eetzia  vera,  Productus  eleoaris,  Athyris  subquadrata, 
and  Spirifer  bisulcatiis,  representing  the  lower  part  of  the  upper  limestone  at 
Chester 6  to  8  feet 

Green  and  brown  shale,  the  lower  part  arenaceous  and  the  upper  argillaceous, 
with  a  few  inches  at  the  top  nearly  black 52  " 

Limestone  No.  4,  or  middle  bed  at  Cole's  Mill 30    " 

Covered  slope  to  the  level  of  the  river . .  .40  to  50    " 


222  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

About  a  hundred  yards  below  where  this  section  \vas  made,  the 
upper  limestone  at  Chester  (No.  3)  was  seen  overlying  the  calcareous 
shale  that  forms  the  upper  bed  in  the  above  section. 

At  Manscoe's  place,  two  and  a  half  miles  above  Liberty,  the  bluff 
consists  of  the  following  beds : 

Sandstones  and  sandy  shales 80  to  90feet 

Gray  cherty  limestone  (No.  2) 25  to  30    " 

Blue  shales,  partly  sandy  in  the  lower  part 40  to  50    " 

Gray  limestones,  partly  argillaceous  and  concretionary  (No.  3),  or  upper  bed 
at  Chester,  extending  above  the  road  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff 52    " 

Search  was  made  at  this  locality  for  coal,  some  years  ago,  by 
digging  in  the  blue  shales  above  limestone  No.  3,  but  none  was  found. 
The  lower  limestone  in  the  foregoing  section,  which  is  undoubtedly 
the  equivalent  of  the  upper  limestone  in  the  bluffs  at  Chester,  passes 
below  the  surface,  probably  not  far  from  the  south  line  of  this  county ; 
for  at  the  crossing  the  small  creek  which  enters  the  Mississippi  at 
the  town  of  Liberty,  its  upper  beds  are  only  about  twenty  feet  above 
the  river  level. 

The  following  section  of  the  strata  just  below  Liberty  shows  the 
relative  thickness  and  general  character  of  the  upper  beds  of  this 
group : 

Massive  quartzose  sandstone  (conglomerate?) 50  to  60  feet 

Gray  compact  siliceous  and  argillaceous  limestone  (No.  1,  Chester  group) 25  to  30  " 

Shales  and  shaly  sandstone,  with  fossil  plants  Sigillaria,  Stigmaria,  Lepido- 

dendron,  etc 80  to  90  " 

Thin  bed  of  limestone  (No.  2) 15  to  18  " 

Massive  sandstone,  presenting  a  speckled  color  when  freshly  broken 40  " 

Limestone,  upper  bed  at  Chester  (No.  3) 18  to  20  " 

The  foregoing  sections  will  afford  a  general  idea  of  the  develop- 
ment and  general  character  of  this  group  of  rocks  in  this  county. 
It  is  by  far  the  most  important  division  of  the  lower.  Carboniferous 
series  developed  in  Southern  Illinois,  both  on  account  of  its  thick- 
ness and  the  extent  of  surface  that  it  occupies.  It  outcrops  over  a 
belt  of  country  from  five  to  ten  miles  in  width,  and  extending  from 
northwest  to  southeast  through  the  whole  extent  of  the  county. 
Except  a  very  small  area  in  the  vicinity  of  Prairie  du  Rocker,  it 
underlies  the  entire  surface  from  the  western  borders  of  the  coal 
field  to  the  bluffs  of  the  Mississippi.  It  crops  out  over  nearly  all 
the  upland  in  this  county  between  the  Okaw  and  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  lands  underlaid  by  it  are  generally  covered  with  timber, 
possess  a  somewhat  broken  surface,  but  a  good  soil,  that  is  especially 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  fruit  Dfrid  small  grain.  Of  'the  six  hundred 
feet  or  more  of  strata  which  comprises  this  group  in  this  county,  more 
than  one-half  is  a  good  building  stone,  and  is  useful  for  nearly  every 
purpose  for  which  material  of  this  kind  is  required. 


KANDOLPH     COUNTY.  223 

The  limestone  No.  2  of  the  series  crops  out  in  the  hills  about 
one  mile  due  north  of  Chester,  though  it  is  but  partially  exposed. 
Indications  of  its  presence  may  also  be  seen  about  the  same  dis- 
tance northeast  of  Chester,  just  beyond  the  top  of  the  ridge  that 
intervenes  between  the  river  bluffs  and  Gravel  creek,  where  the 
surface  is  broken  into  sink  holes,  that  indicate  the  presence  of  an 
underlying  limestone.  All  the  upper  divisions  appear  to  thin  out 
towards  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  and  at  Thompson's  lime-kiln, 
on  section  2,  township  5,  range  7,  the  limestone  which  appears  to 
be  the  equivalent  of  No.  2  or  No.  3,  is  directly  overlaid  by  the  con- 
glomerate of  the  Coal  Measures.  The  exposure  of  limestone  here  is 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness  and  dips  slightly  to  the 
east.  The  beds  vary  in  thickness  from  three  inches  to  two  feet,  are 
compact,  and  afford  a  good  quick-lime.  This  limestone  resembles 
the  upper  bed  at  Chester,  and  affords  many  of  the  same  species  of 
fossils. 

On  Gravel  creek,  on  section  35,  township  6,  range  7,  the  limestone 
No.  3  or  upper  limestone,  in  the  Chester  section,  is  well  exposed, 
and  abounds  in  the  characteristic  fossils  of  this  division,  which  are 
Pinna  Missouriensis,  Myalina  angulata,  Schizodus  Chesterensis,  Ortho- 
ceras  anulo-costatum,  Nautilus  spectabilis,  N.sub-globosus,N.  Chesterensis. 
Allorisma  clavata,  besides  the  common  brachiopoda  of  this  group. 
The  entire  thickness  of  the  limestone  exposure  is  about  twenty-five 
to  thirty  feet.  It  is  quite  argillaceous  at  this  locality,  though  some 
of  the  beds  are  burned  for  lime. 

The  fossil  plants  found  in  the  shales  above  limestones  No.  2  are 
the  oldest  relics  of  a  terrestrial  vegetation  yet  found  in  this  State. 
They  embrace  the  following  species  from  this  county :  Knorrhia 
imbricata,  Stigmaria  reticulata,  S.  minor,  S.  stellata,  and  an  unde- 
termined species  of  Lepidodendron.  Several  additional  species  have 
been  obtained  from  these  shales  in  Pope  county.  It  is  somewhat 
remarkable  that  these  fossils  are  all  referable  to  European  carbon- 
iferous species,  and  goes  to  show  a  very  wide  geographical  range  of 
species  in  the  Carboniferous  era,  if  this  reference  is  correct. 

The  Chester  group  occupies  the  uplands  between  Prairie  du  Rocher 
and  Red-bud,  and  exposures  are  met  with  on  all  the  small  streams. 
The  bluff,  at  the  village  of  Prairie  du  Rocher,  is  composed  of  the 
massive  gray  limestones  of  the  St.  Louis  group,  but  before  reaching 
the  general  level  of  the  adjacent  country  we  pass  over  the  lower 
sandstone  of  the  Chester  group,  and  the  limestones  and  shales  of 
the  higher  beds  are  found  exposed  on  all  the  small  streams  between 
the  river  bluffs  and  Red-bud.  Four  miles  northeast  of  Prairie  du 


224  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Rocher,  the  lower  limestone  (No.  5)  is  exposed  on  a  small  creek. 
The  beds  are  alternately  buff  and  gray  in  color,  and  contain  the 
characteristic  fossils  of  this  group.  The  exposed  portion  of  the  bed 
does  not  exceed  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  in  thickness.  In  the  bed 
of  Horse  creek,  near  the  bridge,  some  massive  layers  of  brown  lime- 
stone are  exposed,  which  perhaps  belong  to  the  same  bed.  When 
we  first  visited  this  portion  of  the  county,  in  1858,  we  found  that  a 
shaft  had  been  sunk  a  half  mile  north  of  Eed-bud  to  the  depth  of 
seventy-seven  feet,  in  search  .of  coal.  The  following  beds  were  passed 
through  in  this  shaft: 

Surface  clay 18  feet 

Gray  limestone,  containing  characteristic  fossils  of  the  Chester  group 13 

Clay  shale 46      " 

This  shaft  appears  to  have  commenced  about  the  horizon  of  lime- 
stone No.  3,  and  penetrated  forty-six  feet  in  the  argillaceous  shale 
below.  At  Vogus'  Mill  there  was  an  exposure  of  ten  feet  of  argilla- 
ceous limestone  above  the  beds  passed  through  in  the  shaft  that  con- 
tained some  of  the  same  fossils  found  in  limestone  No.  3,  on  Gravel 
creek;  and  above  this,  in  a  neighboring  field,  we  found  partial 
exposures  of  brown  shaly  limestone,  with  bands  of  argillaceous  iron 
ore,  containing  Archimedes,  Orthoceratites,  etc.  As  the  shaft  above 
named  was  commenced  at  a  horizon  at  least  two  or  three  hundred 
feet  below  the  Coal  Measures,  we  informed  the  proprietor  that  there 
was  no  probable  chance  of  finding  coal  by  going  to  a  greater  depth, 
and  the  undertaking  was  consequently  abandoned. 

During  the  formation  of  this  group  of  strata,  the  ocean  in  which 
its  material  was  deposited  must  have  been  subjected  to  various 
abrupt  changes  in  the  prevailing  conditions,  and  it  was  the  receptacle 
of  a  great  amount  of  sedimentary  material,  both  sandy  and  argilla- 
ceous, which  sediments  now  constitute  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
limestones,  as  well  as  all  the  sandstone  and  shales  that  alternate 
with  them,  and  comprise  more  than  one-half  the  entire  thickness  of 
the  group.  It  commences  at  the  base  with  an  accumulation  of  sand 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  in -thickness,  which  contains  no  trace  of 
organic  life,  and  scarcely  any  other  mineral  matter,  except  the  brown 
oxyd  of  iron  that  seems  to  form  the  cementing  material,  and  this 
constitutes  the  lower  sandstone.  Above  this  we  have  the  lower 
limestone  probably  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  thick,  a  considerable 
portion  of  which  is  a  tolerable  pure  carbonate  of  lime,  and  has  been 
formed  in  part  by  the  exuviae  of  shell  fishes,  and  the  crinoidae,  and 
other  radiata  that  swarmed  in  countless  numbers  in  the  oceans  at 
this  period,  and  in  part  by  the  carbonate  of  lime  precipitated  from 


RANDOLPH   COUNTY.  225 

the  marine  waters,  so  as  to  serve  as  a  cement  to  the  animal  remains, 
and  thus  form  the  purest  limestone  of  the  mass.  But  during  the 
formation  of  this  limestone  we  find  the  frequent  introduction  of 
argillaceous  sediments,  or  mud,  which  formed  the  thin  layers  of 
clay  shale,  that  separate  the  limestone  strata. 

But  finally  the  conditions  change  completely,  and  we  observe  at 
one  locality  accumulations  of  sand  forming  a  second  sandstone,  and 
at  another  we  find  the  sand  replaced  by  a  calcareous  mud,  giving 
origin  to  calcareo-argillaceous  shales.  These  conditions  alternate 
throughout  the  whole  mass,  the  sediments  becoming  more  abundant 
towards  the  top  of  the  series,  forming  the  greatest  proportion  of  the 
strata,  and  imparting  a  siliceous  and  argillaceous  character  to  the  lime- 
stones themselves.  The  upper  part  of  the  group  merges  into  the  con- 
glomerate sandstone  of  the  Coal  Measures  so  completely  that  it  is  often 
difficult  to  define  the  line  which  separates  them,  and  hence  Dr.  I). 
D.  OWEN  regarded  the  whole  group  as  the  stratigraphical  equivalent 
of  the  Millstone  grit  of  the  British  geologists.  The  teeth  and  spines 
of  sixteen  species  of  fishes  have  been  found  in  the  calcareous  beds 
of  the  Chester  group,  nearly  all  of  which  were  found  in  this  county. 
They  will  be  found  described  and  figured  in  the  second  volume  of  the 
original  Report. 

St.  Louis  Limestone. — The  outcrop  of  this  limestone  in  this  county 
is  confined  to  the  river  bluffs  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  county, 
commencing  at  the  line  separating  Randolph  from  Monroe  county, 
and  extending  down  about  two  miles  below  the  old  village  of  Prairie 
du  Rocker.  The  entire  length  of  the  outcrop  along  the  bluff  is 
about  five  miles.  Just  below  the  county  line  this  limestone  forms 
a  bold  perpendicular  cliff  a  hundred  feet  or  more  in  height,  with  a 
steep  talus  at  the  foot,  and  it  is  probable  that  nearly  the  whole 
thickness  of  the  bed  is  above  the  surface  at  this  point,  or  at  least 
two  hundred  feet  of  its  upper  part.  The  dip  of  the  strata  carries 
this  whole  thickness  below  the  surface  about  five  miles  below  the 
north  line  of  the  county,  where  it  is  succeeded  by  the  lower  Chester 
sandstone. 

At  the  village  of  Prairie  du  Rocher  the  escarpment  of  this  lime- 
stone measures  about  one  hundred  feet  in  thickness  above  the  level 
of  the  road  in  the  village.  The  upper  layers  are  thin-bedded  and 
cherty,  but  towards  the  base  of  the  bluff  the  rock  is  more  massive, 
affording  some  strata  two  feet  in  thickness.  Some  of  the  beds  are 
arenaceous,  and  others  are  separated  by  partings  of  buff  colored 
shale.  One  mile  and  a  half  above  the  village,  the  lower  part  of  the 

limestone  is  amorphous  in  its  character,  presenting   only  indistinct 
—15 


226  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

lines  of  bedding.  Some  of  the  beds  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village 
are  fine-grained,  compact,  and  appear  to  be  a  nearly  pure  carbonate 
of  lime,  and  conld  be  easily  burned  into  quick-lime. 

The  fossils  obtained  from  this  limestone,  near  the  village,  were 
Lithostrotion  mamillaris,  Hemipronites  crenistria,  Spirifer  Keokuk,  and 
Platycrinus  Prattenanus.  The  first  named  species  would  suffice  to 
determine  the  geological  horizon  of  the  bed,  if  no  others  were  obtained 
from  it.  It  characterizes  this  limestone  at  nearly  every  locality  where 
it  is  exposed,  from  Iowa  to  Alabama,  and  has  never  yet,  so  far  as 
we  know,  been  found  in  any  other  division  of  the  lower  Carboniferous 
series. 

This  limestone  will  furnish  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  good  building 
stone,  and  limestone  for  lime,  while  some  of  the  thin  arenaceous 
beds  in  the  upper  part  will  make  good  flag-stones.  In  the  adjoining 
counties  of  Monroe  and  St.  Glair,  there  is  a  bed  of  hydraulic  lime- 
stone near  the  junction  of  the  St.  Louis  with  the  Keokuk  group,  and 
if  it  is  developed  here,  would  be  found  at  the  base  of  the  bluff,  near 
the  north  line  of  the  county.  Its  position,  at  localities  farther  north, 
is  immediately  above  the  geodiferous  shales  of  the  Keokuk  group. 

Economical  Geology. 

Soils. — The  uplands  in  this  county  possess  considerable  variety  in 
their  soils,  in  part  due  perhaps  to  the  present  configuration  of  the 
surface,  and  in  part  to  the  lithological  characters  of  the  underlying 
strata.  Where  the  lands  are  tolerably  level,  the  organic  matter  has 
been  more  generally  retained,  and  the  soil  is  usually  chocolate 
colored,  and  contains  a  considerable  amount  of  decomposed  vegetable 
matter.  Where  the  surface  is  broken,  the  vegetable  matters  are 
washed  down  into  the  valleys  by  the  rains,  and  the  soil  is  usually 
of  a  light  brown  or  buff  color,  with  a  comparatively  small  per  cent, 
of  organic  matter.  The  sub-soil  is  generally  a  yellow  clay,  which, 
when  brought  to  the  surface,  makes  a  strong  and  productive  soil. 
Where  the  lands  are  underlaid  by  the  sandstones  and  sandy  shales 
of  the  Chester  group  and  the  conglomerate,  there  is  a  considerable 
amount  of  sand  in  the  soil,  giving  a  warm  dry  soil  that  is  easily 
worked  and  very  productive.  Along  the  river  bluffs  the  soil  is  formed 
from  the  loess,  and  is  a  rich  sandy  loam,  often  of  great  depth,  and 
is  preferable  to  any  other  in  the  county  for  the  cultivation  of  fruit, 
and  especially  the  vine.  Where  the  underlying  rocks  are  argillaceous, 
we  find  a  stiff  clay  soil,  which  retains  a  superabundance  of  water  in 
the  spring,  and  suffers  most  from  drouth  during  the  dry  seasons. 
But  throughout  the  uplands  in  this  county,  wherever  the  surface  is 


RANDOLPH   COUNTY.  227 

sufficiently  level  to  be  readily  cultivated  with  the  plow,  the  soil  is 
found  to  yield  good  crops  of  corn,  wheat,  oats,  barley,  castor  beans, 
tobacco,  and  even  cotton  may.be  grown  here  when  the  season  is 
favorable  for  maturing  it. 

The  lower  extremity  of  the  American  Bottom  forms  a  belt  of 
alluvial  land  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  about  twenty 
miles  in  length,  and  from  three  to  six  miles  in  breadth,  and  embraces 
an  area  of  nearly  one  hundred  square  miles  in  extent.  The  soil  of 
this  bottom  consists  of  sand  and  clay  deposited,  in  part,  from  the 
waters  of  the  Mississippi  during  the  periods  of  overflow,  intermingled 
with  a  large  per  cent,  of  vegetable  mould,  from  the  growth  and 
decomposition  of  the  vegetable  matter  that  grows  upon  the  surface. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  productive  tracts  of  alluvial  soil  in  the  west, 
and  is  not  excelled  in  its  productive  capacity,  even  by  the  far-famed 
bottom  lands  of  the  Miami.  They  are,  beyond  doubt,  the  most 
fertile  lands  in  the  county,  but  they  are  subject  to  occasional  over- 
flow from  the  annual  floods  of  the  Mississippi,  which  detracts  materi- 
ally from  their  value  for  cultivation.  The  old  town  of  Kaskaskia, 
the  first  point  settled  in  this  State,  and  the  oldest  settlement  in  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  is  situated  on  this  bottom  near  its  southern 
extremity.  It  was  the  seat  of  government  for  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory for  many  years,  and  the  headquarters  for  the  mining  and  trad- 
ing expeditions  of  the  early  French  settlers.  For  the  last  few  years 
it  has  been  gradually  declining,  and  is  no  longer  a  point  of  any 
commercial  importance. 

In  its  original  condition  this  bottom  was  in  good  part  covered  with 
a  heavy  growth  of  timber,  interspersed  with  small  bottom  prairies. 
These  timbered  lands  are  by  far  the  most  valuable  in  the  county, 
and  sustain  a  growth  of  black  and  white  walnut,  sugar  maple,  hack- 
berry,  pecan,  ash,  elm,  linden,  hickory,  and  two  or  three  varieties  of  oak. 

Building  Stone. — This  county  has  an  abundant  supply  of  good 
building  stone,  not  only  sufficient  for  the  demand  at  home,  but 
enough  to  supply  the  whole  State  for  centuries  to  come,  if  it  could 
be  properly  distributed.  The  St.  Louis  limestone,  which,  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  county,  is  at  least  two  hundred  feet  in 
thickness,  could  all  be  made  available  for  economical  purposes,  and 
will  furnish  suitable  material  for  the  heaviest  masonry,  as  well  as 
for  outside  and  foundation  walls  for  dwellings,  flagstones,  etc.  The 
lower  sandstone  of  the  Chester  group,  more  than  a  hundred  feet  in 
thickness,  is  an  excellent  freestone,  can  be  sawed  or  cut  easily  when 
freshly  quarried,  and  hardens  on  exposure.  The  other  sandstones  of 
this  group  will  all  furnish  more  or  less  building  material  and  flagstones. 


228  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  lower  limestone  of  the  Chester  group,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  in  thickness,  is  nearly  all  fit  for  foundation  walls,  and  some  of 
the  beds  dress  well  and  furnish  a  good  material  for  architectural 
purposes.  The  upper  part  of  limestone  No.  3,  of  this  group,  is  a 
granular  semi-crystalline  limestone,  that  dresses  easily  and  makes 
a  handsome  cutstone  for  caps  and  sills  and  outside  walls  for  fine 
buildings.  The  fire-proof  building  for  a  clerk's  office  in  the  city  of 
Chester  is  built  of  this  limestone.  The  two  upper  limestones  of  this 
group  afford  a  good  material  for  rough  walls,  but  they  appear  to  be  more 
siliceous  than  the  lower  limestones  and  are  too  hard  to  be  cut  readily. 

The  conglomerate  sandstone,  at  the  base  of  the  Coal  Measures, 
outcrops  through  the  central  portion  of  the  county,  and  will  afford 
a  tolerable  good  material  for  rough  walls,  and  some  good  flagstones. 
However,  it  requires  more  care  in  selecting  than  is  necessary  with 
the  lower  sandstones,  because  it  is  liable  to  crumble  on  exposure  to 
the  atmosphere;  and  where  it  does  so  on  a  naturally  exposed  sur- 
face, it  should  never  be  used  as  a  building  stone.  A  rock  that  does 
not  stand  exposure  in  the  outcrop  without  crumbling,  should  never 
be  relied  on  as  a  building  stone ;  but  if  it  presents  sharp  angles  and 
a  hard  surface  at  the  natural  exposure,  it  may  generally  be  relied 
on  in  the  wall. 

In  the  northeastern  and  eastern  portions  of  the  county,  where 
the  surface  is  underlaid  by  the  Coal  Measures,  good  building  stone 
is  not  abundant.  The  limestones  that  overlie  the  coal  seams  furnish 
some  material  that  will  answer  for  rough  walls,  but  they  are  often 
argillaceous;  and  when  they  are  so,  they  frequently  crumble  on 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  The  limestone  over  the  Belleville  coal 
at  Pope's  bank,  and  various  other  localities  in  the  vicinity  of  Sparta, 
is  a  dark  bluish-gray  limestone,  somewhat  argillaceous,  but  is  said 
to  slack  readily  when  burned.  It  is  from  three  to  six  feet  thick. 
The  micaceous  sandstone  above  this  is  rarely  exposed  in  this  part 
of  the  county,  and  no  very  definite  opinion  could  be  formed  as  to 
its  fitness  for  building  purposes;  but  it  seemed  to  be  too  soft  to  be 
of  much  value. 

Limestone  for  Lime. — By  far  the  best  material  for  the  manufacture 
of  quick  lime,  in  this  county,  may  be  obtained  from  the  St.  Louis 
limestone,  in  the  vicinity  of  Prairie  du  Rocher.  Indeed,  this  lime- 
stone is  not  surpassed  by  any  calcareous  deposit  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley  for  the  production  of  a  superior  quality  of  lime ;  and  the 
Alton  lime,  which  is  made  from  this  limestone,  has  an  excellent 
reputation  wherever  it  has  been  used.  Some  of  the  most  calcareous 
beds  of  the  lower  Chester  limestone,  as  well  as  the  upper  beds  of  No. 


RANDOLPH     COUNTY.  229 

3,  of  the  same  group,  are  used  for  this  purpose,  and  afford  lime  of 
a  fine  quality.  On  Gravel  creek  and  at  Thompson's  quarries,  on 
Nine-mile  creek,  the  limestone  used  for  this  purpose  is  obtained  from 
No.  3,  and  it  appears  to  answer  very  well  for  this  purpose,  and  affords 
a  supply  for  the  eastern  and  northeastern  portions  of  the  county. 

Clays. — Both  the  coal  seams  in  this  county  are  underlaid  by  beds 
of  fire-clay,  which,  at  some  points,  will  perhaps  prove  to  be  valuable, 
though  at  the  exposures  in  the. vicinity  of  Sparta,  the  only  point 
where  we  had  an  opportunity  to  examine  them,  they  did  not  seem 
to  be  sufficiently  pure  for  the  manufacture  of  fire  brick.  Clays 
suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  common  brick  may  be  obtained 
from  the  sub-soil  of  the  uplands  anywhere,  and  nearly  every  farmer, 
if  he  chooses,  may  manufacture  all  the  bricks  he  requires  on  his 
own  premises. 

Coal. — Bituminous  coal  is  by  far  the  most  valuable  and  important 
mineral  deposit  in  this  county,  and  one  that  is  destined,  at  no  very 
distant  period,  to  exercise  a  very  decided  influence  on  its  econom- 
ical interests.  Unfortunately  for  the  early  development  of  this  great 
element  of  material  wealth  in  this  county,  the  deposit  is  so  remote 
from  any  accessible  highway,  that  the  cost  of  transportation  has 
hitherto  prevented  the  working  of  these  mines,  except  to  supply  the 
neighborhood  demand  for  coal.  From  what  has  already  been  said 
in  regard  to  the  Coal  Measures  of  this  county,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered that  there  are  two  seams  of  coal  outcropping  here,  the  lower 
one  varying  in  thickness  from  two  to  four  feet,  and  the  upper  one 
averaging  about  six  feet.  This  upper  seam  underlies  about  two  and 
one-half  townships  in  the  eastern  and  northeastern  portions  of  the 
county,  comprising  the  eastern  part  of  township  6  south,  range 
5  west,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  township  5  south,  range  5  west ; 
the  whole  of  township  4  south,  range  5  west,  and  the  eastern  part 
of  township  4  south,  range  6  west.  Its  outcrop  crosses  Mary's 
river  in  section  28,  township  5  south,  range  5  west,  and  from  this 
point  it  trends  off  northwest  to  the  north  line  of  the  county.  The 
lower  seam  underlies  probably  a  greater  surface  than  the  upper 
one,  but  it  is  not  so  regularly  developed,  and  is  much  thinner,  sel- 
dom exceeding  two  or  three  feet  in  thickness. 

The  miner's  estimate  of  the  yield  of  a  coal  seam  is  one  million 
of  tons  to  the  square  mile  for  every  foot  in  thickness  of  the  seam, 
and  consequently  the  yield  of  the  upper  seam  would  be  about  six 
million  tons  of  coal  to  every  section  of  land  which  it  underlies. 
The  yield  of  the  lower  seam  would  be  about  two  and  a  half  million 


230  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

tons  to  the  square  mile,  making  an  aggregate  of  eight  and  a  half 
million  tons  of  coal  to  every  section  of  land  that  is  underlaid  by 
these  two  seams. 

The  question  now  arises,  what  is  wanting  to  make  this  large 
deposit  of  mineral  wealth  at  once  available  and  subservient  to  the 
development  of  the  industrial  interests  of  Eandolph  county?  I 
answer,  a  cheaper  means  of  transportation  from  this  coal  region  to 
the  Mississippi  river.  When  once  the  Mississippi  is  reached  by  rail- 
road from  these  mines,  the  entire  southern  market  is  opened  for 
their  products,  as  well  as  the  constantly  increasing  home  market 
for  steam  fuel  at  your  own  wharves.  The  favorable  position  of  this 
county  on  the  Mississippi,  below  all  impediments  to  navigation, 
gives  this  a  decided  advantage  over  any  coal  region  in  more  northern 
portions  of  the  State,  and  the  home  market  for  the  supply  of  the 
steamers  that  are  almost  hourly  passing  your  wharves  would  be  far 
more  important  than  at  any  point  above  St.  Louis.  These  consid- 
erations should  stimulate  the  citizens  of  Eandolph  county  to  an 
energetic  movement  looking  towards  the  early  development  of  this 
great  natural  resource  of  material  wealth,  which  has  been  so  boun- 
tifully bestowed  upon  them. 

The  construction  of  a  railroad  from  Chester  to  the  coal  region,  a 
distance  of  only  about  fifteen  to  twenty  miles,  and  over  a  country 
presenting  no  natural  impediments  to  the  cheap  construction  of  such 
a  road,  but,  on  the  contrary,  abounding  in  stone  for  the  construction 
of  culverts,  and  timber  for  ties  and  bridges,  would  give  a  decided 
impetus  to  every  branch  of  industry  that  would  be  felt  throughout 
the  county.  The  building  of  such  a  road  would  at  once  quadruple 
the  value  of  all  the  coal  lands  in  the  county;  it  would  stimulate 
manufactures,  induce  immigration,  and  add  greatly  to  the  general 
wealth  and  prosperity  of  the  county,  and  make  available  the  mineral 
resources  that  are  now  comparatively  valueless  for  the  want  of  cheap 
transportation  to  a  good  market.  A  road  has  been  recently  surveyed 
from  St.  Louis  to  Cairo,  intersecting  these  coal  lands  in  Kandolph 
county,  which,  if  completed,  would  open  a  market  for  these  coals  at 
Cairo,  but  it  is  questionable  whether  this  road,  if  built,  would  be  as 
beneficial  to  the  industrial  interests  of  this  county  as  a  road  directly 
from  the  coal  lands  to  the  Mississippi  river.  For  a  qualitative 
analysis  of  the  coals  of  this  county,  see  Dr.  BLANEY'S  report,  in  a 
former  chapter. 


CHAPTER     X. 

ST.  CLAIE     COUNTY. 

This  county  comprises  a  superficial  area  of  a  little  more  than 
eighteen  townships,  or  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  square  miles.  It 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Madison  county,  on  the  east  by  Clinton 
and  Washington  counties,  on  the  south  by  Randolph  and  Monroe 
counties,  and  on  the  west  by  Monroe  county  and  the  Mississippi 
river.  The  surface  of  the  county  is  generally  rolling,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  river  bluffs  it  becomes  broken  and  hilly.  Between 
the  bluffs  and  the  river,  there  is  a  belt  of  alluvial  bottom  land  from 
six  to  eight  miles  in  width.  The  soil  upon  this  bottom,  wherever  it 
is  sufficiently  elevated  to  be  susceptible  of  cultivation,  is  a  deep 
sandy  loam,  exceedingly  fertile,  and  was  originally  in  part  covered 
by  a  very  heavy  growth  of  timber.  The  lands  upon  this  alluvial 
belt  are  not  surpassed  in  fertility  by  any  in  the  west,  and  a  large 
area,  contiguous  to  East  St.  Louis,  is  devoted  to  growing  vegetables 
for  the  St.  Louis  market.  The  principal  varieties  of  timber  on  the 
bottom  lands  of  this  county  are  the  same  as  those  already  enumer- 
ated in  the  foregoing  report  on  the  adjoining  county  of  Randolph. 

The  uplands  are  generally  elevated  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Mississippi,  and  are  beauti- 
fully diversified  with  prairie  and  timber.  The  prairies  are  generally 
of  small  size,  and  are  mostly  restricted  to  the  central  and  eastern 
portions  of  the  county.  The  varieties  of  timber  noticed  on  the  up- 
lands are  black,  white  and  red  oak,  pig-nut  and  shell-bark  hickory, 
black  and  white  walnut,  elm,  linden,  hackberry,  sugar  maple,  honey 
locust,  wild  cherry,  red  bud,  and  sassafras.  Two  varieties  of  the 
wild  grape  flourish  luxuriantly  on  the  timbered  lands,  in  this  county. 
The  summer  grape  (Vitis  cestevalis,)  abounds  in  the  groves  upon  the 
uplands,  and  the  winter  or  frost  grape  (Vitis  cordijolia)  is  equally 
abundant  in  the  timbered  lands  of  the  Mississippi  bottom,  and  along 


232  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  smaller  streams.  The  abundant  and  luxuriant  growth  of  the 
wild  or  native  vines  in  this  county  may  be  regarded  as  a  certain 
indication  of  the  adaptability  of  the  soil  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
finer  varieties  of  grapes,  and  for  the  production  of  a  fine  quality  of 
native  wine,  and  the  uniform  success  with  which  some  of  the  best 
varieties  of  grapes  have  been  grown  in  this  and  the  adjoining  county 
of  Monroe  by  the  industrious  German  population  of  these  counties, 
gives  abundant  assurance  of  the  eventual  success  of  this  most  im- 
portant and  profitable  branch  of  horticulture.  The  Catawba  grape 
has  been  grown  for  several  years  with  tolerable  success,  though  it 
is  more  subject  to  mildew  here  than  two  degrees  further  north, 
where  it  has  been  grown  successfully  for  five  or  six  years,  without 
any  serious  loss  from  this  cause.  It  will  probably  be  found  that 
some  other  varieties,  such  as  Norton's  Virginia,  Concord,  and  Del- 
aware, will  prove  to  be  better  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate  of 
Southern  Illinois  than  the  Catawba.  Fruits  of  all  kinds  adapted  to 
a  temperate  climate  may  be  successfully  grown  in  this  county, 
especially  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  bluffs,  and  its  proximity  to 
St.  Louis  renders  this  a  very  desirable  location  for  those  desirous  of 
engaging  in  this  delightful  pursuit. 

The  principal  streams  in  the  interior  of  this  county  are  the  Okaw 
or  Kaskaskia  river,  which  intersects  the  southeastern  portion  of  the 
county,  and  Richland  and  Silver  creeks,  that  empty  into  it  on  the 
north,  and  Mud  creek  on  the  south.  Cahokia  creek  also  intersects 
the  northwestern  portion  of  the  county,  and  empties  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi nearly  opposite  St.  Louis.  These  streams  generally  have 
their  course  in  the  Quaternary  deposits,  and  exhibit  but  rarely  good 
exposures  of  the  stratified  rocks,  except  along  the  bluffs  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. By  the  aid  of  artificial  sections,  however,  which  have  been 
obtained  in  various  parts  of  the  county,  from  the  shafts  and  borings 
that  have  been  made  down  to  the  Belleville  coal  seam,  we  have 
been  able  to  obtain  a  correct  idea  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the 
strata  that  are  deeply  hidden  beneath  the  surface,  in  the  central 
and  eastern  portions  of  the  county.  It  is  very  important  that  a 
journal  should  be  kept  at  every  shaft  or  boring  made  in  any  portion 
of  the  State,  as  in  that  way  much  valuable  practical  knowledge  may 
be  obtained  that  can  be  secured  in  no  other  way. 

The  geological  formations  that  appear  above  the  surface  in  this 
county  comprise  the  usual  Quaternary  deposits,  the  lower  three 
hundred  feet  or  more  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  about  three  hundred 
feet  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestone.  In 
the  Quaternary  deposits  we  include  all  the  surface  deposits  of  marl, 


ST.     CLAIB     COUNTY.  233 

clay,  sand  and  gravel,  which  are  spread  over  the  entire  surface  of 
the  county,  to  the  depth  of  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet.  It  includes  the  alluvial  beds  of  the  Mississippi  bottoms,  the 
marly  clays  and  sands  of  the  loess  that  caps  the  river  bluffs,  and 
the  heavy  deposits  of  clay,  sand  and  gravel,  that  cover  the  strati- 
fied rocks  in  the  central  and  eastern  portions  of  the  county,  to  the 
depth  of  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  These  deposits  are 
comparatively  of  recent  origin,  and  have  accumulated  since  the 
appearance  upon  the  earth  of  many  of  the  existing  forms  of  animal 
life. 

These  alluvial  deposits  are  mainly  due  to  aqueous  action,  and 
the  sands  and  fine  mud  of  which  they  are  composed  have  been 
deposited  in  part  by  river  currents,  and  in  part  derived  from  the 
material  washed  down  by  the  rains  from  the  adjacent  highlands. 
This  is  the  most  recent  or  last  formed  division  of  the  Quaternary. 
The  loess  is  a  deposit  of  marly  sand  that  is  found  along  the  river 
bluffs  in  this  county,  which  is  of  variable  thickness,  sometimes  as 
much  as  fifty  or  sixty  feet  on  the  western  slope  of  the  bluff,  but 
thins  out  rapidly  as .  the  level  of  the  adjacent  highlands  is 
approached.  Fine  sections,  forty  feet  or  more  in  height,  may  be 
seen  in  the  railroad  cuts  in  the  vicinity  of  Caseyville,  where  this 
deposit  presents  its  usual  appearance,  and  is  filled  with  fossil  shells. 
From  its  position  on  the  slope  of  the  river  bluffs,  and  from  the  fact 
that  it  forms  mounds  of  considerable  height  on  the  Mississippi 
bottoms,  it  seems  probable  that  it  was  accumulated  when  the  present 
valley  of  the  river  was  occupied  by  a  chain  of  lakes,  the  waters  of 
which  filled  it  nearly  to  the  height  of  the  adjacent  highlands,  and 
that  it  was  originally  spread  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  valley. 
A  considerable  portion  of  it  was  no  doubt  removed  during  the 
drainage  of  the  valley  by  the  gradual  elevation  of  the  surface,  and 
other  portions  have  been  subsequently  removed  by  the  action  of  river 
currents. 

The  drift  clays,  sands  and  gravel  beds  which  cover  the  highlands 
generally  are  quite  unlike  either  of  the  divisions  of  this  formation 
already  described,  and  have  resulted  from  very  different  conditions, 
for  the  details  of  which  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  subsequent 
chapter  on  the  general  character  of  the  drift  deposits  of  this  State. 
They  were,  no  doubt,  accumulated  when  the  whole  surface  was 
under  water,  and  as  the  surface  of  the  underlying  rocks  had  in 
many  places  been  eroded  into  valleys,  they  were  subsequently  filled 
with  this  material,  and  it  is  therefore  considerably  thicker  at  some 
localities  than  at  others,  even  where  the  surface  level  is  the  same. 


234  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

We  usually  find  at  the  base  of  the  drift  deposits  a  bed  of  blue, 
plastic  clay,  containing  sometimes  small  pebbles,  at  other  localities 
there  are  stratified  sands  below  the  clay,  that  form  the  lowest  beds 
of  the  deposit.  At  the  Alma  shaft,  two  miles  west  of  O'Fallon,  this 
deposit  is  seventy  feet  thick,  but  no  account  of  the  variation  of  the 
material  in  different  parts  of  the  bed  has  been  preserved.  At  the 
Summerfield  shaft  the  drift  clays  were  but  thirty-five  feet  thick,  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  Athens  it  was  found  to  be  fifty  feet,  and  consisted 
of  clay  and  sand,  with  rounded  boulders  at  the  bottom.  On  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  20,  township  1  south,  range  6  west, 
the  following  beds  were  passed  through  in  sinking  a  well,  according 
to  the  notes  of  Mr.  ENGELMANN  : 

Soil  and  yellow  clay 14  feet 

Reddish-brown  gravel  and  sand  in  layers  growing  finer  below 28    " 

Blue  clay 83    " 

This  makes  an  aggregate  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  of 
drift  at  this  locality.  At  the  Mascoutah  shaft  the  drift  was  found 
to  be  eighty-two  feet  thick,  showing  the  following  divisions : 

Soil  and  clay 20  feet 

Quicksand 6    " 

Blue,  gray  and  reddish  clay 50    " 

Coarse  quicksand,  with  bits  of  wood 6    " 

At  the  shaft  near  Urbana  the  drift  was  found  to  be  only  forty- 
five  feet,  but  no  record  was  preserved  of  the  different  materials  of 
which  it  was  composed.  From  these  sections  it  will  be  seen  that 
it  varies  in  thickness,  in  different  parts  of  the  county,  from  thirty- 
five  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet,  and  may  be  even  thicker 
than  that  at  some  points.  Boulders  of  any  considerable  size  are 
rarely  met  with  in  this  county,  and  the  deposits  consist,  for  the 
most  part,  of  fine  sand,  clay  and  gravel,  and  usually  presents  some 
traces  of  an  imperfect  stratification. 

Coal  Measures. — This  formation,  as  it  is  developed  in  this  county, 
comprises  a  thickness  of  about  three, hundred  feet  of  the  lower  part 
of  the  coal  series,  embracing  the  horizon  of  five  coal  seams,  only 
two  of  which,  however,  appear  to  be  of  economical  value  at  the 
present  time.  These  measures  underlie  fully  three-fourths  of  the 
entire  surface  of  the  county,  embracing  all  the  central  and  eastern 
portions.  The  western  boundary  of  the  Coal  Measures  intersect  the 
river  bluffs  about  two  miles  below  Centreville  station,  on  the  Belle- 
ville and  St.  Louis  railroad,  and  from  -that  south  to  a  point  two 
miles  south  of  the  town  -"of  Centreville,  and  thence  with  a  south- 
easterly trend  it  crosses  the  Okaw  near  Tamaroa.  Northward  from 
the  point  where  the  boundary  line  intersects  the  bluffs,  it  follows 


ST.     CLAIK    COUNTY.  235 

the  course  of  the  bluffs  in  a  northeasterly  direction  to  the  south 
line  of  Madison  county,  just  north  of  the  village  of  Casey ville.  All 
that  portion  of  the  county  lying  east  of  this  line  is  underlaid  by 
these  measures,  and  at  nearly  every  locality  examined  they  contain 
valuable  deposits  of  coal.  The  thickest  coal  seam  outcrops  in  the 
river  bluff  and  along  the  western  borders  of  the  Coal  Measures  in 
the  southwestern  portion  of  the  county.  The  dip,  though  very 
moderate,  is  in  an  easterly  direction,  and  in  consequence  the  coal 
lies  deepest  below  the  surface  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  county. 
The  following  section  of  the  measures  containing  coal,  in  this  county, 
is  compiled  in  part  from  the  shafts  sunk  in  the  east  part  of  the 
county,  and  in  part  from  the  natural  outcrops  of  the  strata  that  are 
found  along  the  river  bluffs.  They  comprise  the  following  beds, 
commencing  with  those  passed  through  in  the  shaft  at  Summerfield, 
in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  county,  which  afford  the  following 
section,  commencing  immediately  below  the  drift  clays : 

Bituminous  shale  (No.  10  coal?) ..  3  feet  0  inches 


Fire-clay 0 

Gray  shale  and  sandstone /. 35 

Hard  limestone  (f ossiliferous) 5 

Sandstones  and  shales 90 

Coal  No.  8 0 

Conglomerate,  with  ferruginous  pebbles 4 

Fire-clay 1 

Clay  shale  (soapstone) 10  to  12 

Coal 0 

Fire-clay 0 

Gray  shales 20 

Limestone 4 

Gray  and  varigated  shales 35 

Limestone 8 

Black  and  gray  shales : 25 

Coal  No.  6?..,  ..4 


If  the  coal  seam  worked  at  Summerfield  is  really  No.  6,  there  is 
a  remarkable  thickening  of  the  shales  between  it  and  the  limestone 
that  ordinarily  forms  the  roof  to  the  coal;  and  the  coal  itself  is 
considerably  thinner  than  its  average  thickness  in  this  and  the 
adjoining  counties,  and  is  harder  and  more  impregnated  with  the 
sulphuret  of  iron,  and  in  that  respect  it  is  more  like  coal  No.  5. 
Judging  only  from  the  lithological  character  of  the  lower  beds  in 
the  above  section,  we  should  be  inclined  to  regard  the  Summerfield 
coal  as  No.  5,  and  to  consider  the  place  of  coal  No.  6  to  be  occu- 
pied by  the  black  shale  immediately  below  the  eight  feet  of  lime- 
stone. 


236  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Continuing  this  section  from  the  horizon  of  the  upper  limestone 
in  the  vicinity  of  Belleville,  to  the  base  of  the  Coal  Measures,  we 
find  the  following  succession  of  strata : 

Compact  bluish-gray  limestone 4  to    8  feet 

Sandy  shales 10  to  15  " 

Limestone  and  calcareous  shales 5  to  15  " 

Bituminous  shale  (local) 1  " 

Coal,  Belleville  seam,  No.  6 5  to    7  " 

Clay  shale  (local) 1  ' 

Nodular  argillaceous  limestone 4  to    8  " 

Shales 5  to  10  " 

Brown  argillaceous  limestone 4  " 

Bituminous  shales 3  to    5  " 

Coal  No.  5 3  " 

Clay  shale,  passing  into  sandy  shale 20  to  30  " 

Bituminous  shale 2  to    3  " 

CoalNo.l? 1  "    6  inches 

Fire-clay 2  to    3  " 

Conglomerate  sandstone  (local) 5  to    8  " 

These  beds  form  a  continuous  outcrop,  from  their  first  appearance 
in  the  river  bluffs,  about  one  mile  and  a  half  below  Centreville  Sta- 
tion, to  the  north  line  of  the  county,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  north 
of  the  village  of  Caseyville. 

The  Belleville  coal  seam,  No.  6,  is  the  principal  one  worked,  at 
the  present  time,  and  it  was  probably  the  first  ever  worked  in  the 
State.  Its  natural  outcrop  along  the  bluffs,  in  such  near  proximity 
to  St.  Louis,  called  attention  to  its  value  at  an  early  day,  and  it 
was  worked  in  open  trenches,  and  by  tunneling  into  the  seam  along 
the  face  of  the  bluff,  long  before  its  existence  under  the  surface  of 
the  adjacent  highlands  was  even  suspected.  Its  general  thickness 
in  this  county  ranges  from  five  to  seven  feet,  and  it  has  a  substan- 
tial limestone  roof,  so  that  it  can  be  worked  with  safety  and  in  the 
most  economical  manner.  This  coal  is  generally  quite  regularly 
stratified,  and  the  two  upper  layers,  which  vary  in  their  aggregate 
thickness  from  sixteen  to  twenty-four  inches,  is  much  the  purest  in 
quality,  and  is  usually  separated  from  the  lower  coal,  and  is  sold  at 
about  two  cents  per  bushel  higher,  as  a  blacksmith's  coal.  The 
lower  coal  contains  more  sulphuret  of  iron,  but  the  quality  varies 
somewhat  in  different  mines,  and  no  general  description  would  be 
applicable  to  every  locality. 

Above  this  coal  there  is  sometimes  a  foot  or  more  of  bituminous 
shale,  but  more  frequently  the  coal  is  directly  overlaid  by  the  lime- 
stone. The  coal  sometimes  rests  on  a  thin  bed  of  clay  shale,  but 
sometimes  this  is  absent,  and  it  rests  directly  upon  a  nodular 
argillaceous  limestone ;  and  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon,  either  in 
this  or  the  adjoining  counties,  to  find  the  coal  directly  inclosed 


ST.    CLAIB   COUNTY.  237 

between  two  beds  of  limestone.  These  limestones  are  both  of  marine 
origin,  and  contain  fossil  shells,  at  some  localities,  in  abundance. 
At  Caseyville  the  lower  limestone  contains  Spirifer  lineatus,  Athyris 
subtileta,  Bellerophon  nodocarinatus,  a  remarkably  elongated  shell  that 
appears  to  belong  to  the  genus  Macrocheilus,  and  an  undetermined 
species  of  Loxonema.  At  the  Hodge's  Creek  Coal  Mines,  on  the  west 
line  of  Greene  county,  this  lower  limestone  is  very  fossiliferous,  and 
contains  many  small  spiral  shells,  besides  two  or  three  species  of 
Naticopsis,  and  a  large  hemispherical  coral  in  great  abundance, 
which  appears  to  belong  to  the  genus  Chcetetes,  and  is  probably 
C.  milleporaceus,  E.  and  H. 

The  limestone  above  the  coal  is  more  generally  fossiliferous  even 
than  that  below  it,  and  the  mines  at  Caseyville,  Belleville  and  Pitts- 
burg  have  afforded  many  fine  specimens.  The  most  characteristic 
species  from  this  limestone  are  the  following:  Productus  costatus, 
P.  Prattenanus,  P.  punctatus,  P.  longispinus,  Athyris  subtileta,  A. 
Royissii,  Chonetes  mesoloba,  C.  granulifera,  Spirifer  cameratus,  with 
plates  and  joints  of  crinoidea.  The  occurrence  of  a  heavy  seam  of 
coal  inclosed  directly  between  two  beds  of  marine  limestone  is  a  fact 
that,  so  far  as  we  recollect,  has  not  heretofore  been  noticed  in  this 
country,  and  appears  to  form  an  exception  to  the  generally  accepted 
conditions  under  which  the  vegetable  matter  that  has  entered  into 
the  formation  of  the  coal  was  accumulated. 

Above  the  limestone  which  forms  the  roof  to  the  Belleville  coal 
we  usually  find  bands  of  calcareous  and  sandy  shales,  varying  in 
thickness  from  ten  to  twenty  feet ;  and  on  the  small  creek  just  north 
of  Belleville  these  shales  terminate  upward  in  a  bed  of  light  gray 
clay  shale,  resembling  a  fire  clay.  This  bed  of  clay  shale  contains 
fish  teeth  and  some  other  fossils,  and  is  overlaid  by  another  lime- 
stone from  ten  to  twelve  feet  in  thickness,  which  is  generally  quar- 
ried in  that  vicinity  to  supply  the  local  demand  for  building  stone. 
It  is  a  brownish-gray  rather  argillaceous  limestone,  more  regularly 
bedded  than  the  limestone  immediately  above  the  coal  seam,  and 
may  be  easily  distinguished  from  it.  In  the  river  bluffs  at  the  old 
Pittsburg  mines  it  is  only  about  four  feet  in  thickness,  but  it  has 
afforded  a  few  rare  fossils  from  that  locality,  among  which  are 
Bellerophon  crassus,  Euomphalus  umbilicatus,  Leda  arata?  and  Nati- 
copsis nodosus.  In  the  southwest  part  of  Madison  county  this  lime- 
stone is  only  two  feet  thick,  and  is  underlaid  by  two  feet  of  coal, 
which,  at  Belleville,  is  replaced  by  clay  shale.  In  the  shaft  at  Sum- 


238  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

merfield  this  limestone  is  four  and  a  half  feet  thick,  and  this  is 
probably  quite  as  much  as  the  average  thickness  of  the  bed  through 
the  county. 

On  Jack's  run,  about  half  a  mile  east  of  Urbana,  there  is  a  fine 
exposure  of  the  strata  above  the  Belleville  quarry  rock,  showing  the 
following  succession  of  layers  from  the  top  downward: 

Shale  and  sandstone,  the  latter  micaceous  and  partly  in  massive  layers. .  .35  feet. 

Gray  shale 20  ' 

Blue  clay  shale,  with  bands  of  iron  ore 15  ' 

Coal 0  '     4  inches. 

Clay  shale 3  ' 

Shaly  gray  limestone 1  '     Ginches. 

Argillaceous  shale 3  ' 

Hard  gray  limestone  (Belleville  quarry  rock) 10  ' 

The  lower  limestone  in  the  above  section  is  a  tough,  irregularly- 
bedded  gray  rock,  sometimes  partially  brecciated,  and  weathers  to  a 
dark  reddish-brown  color  on  the  surface.  Its  lithological  characters 
are  quite  different  from  those  presented  by  this  limestone  at  Belle- 
ville, but  its  stratigraphical  position,  about  twenty  feet  above  the 
main  coal,  would  seem  to  leave  but  little  doubt  of  its  identity  with 
that  rock.  Its  first  outcrop  on  Jack's  run  is  about  half  a  mile  above 
its  junction  with  Silver  creek,  and  it  continues  to  show  itself  on 
the  last  named  creek  for  a  half  mile  or  more  below  the  bridge.  A 
partial  exposure  of  the  beds  intervening  between  this  limestone  and 
the  Belleville  coal  showed  the  following  succession,  in  the  descending 
order : 

Ferruginous  shale 8   feet. 

Band  of  hard  arenaceous  limestone •. 1 

Shales,  partly  hidden 10? 

Hard  gray  limestone 3 

Bituminous  shale  (local) 1 

Coal-Belleville 7 

The  clay  shale  above  the  four-inch  coal,  in  the  first  of  the  above 
sections,  is  filled  with  marine  shells,  belonging  to  the  genera  Belle- 
rophon,  Pleurotomaria,  Polyphemopsis,  and  Nautilus. 

The  main  coal  has  been  opened  at  many  points  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Belleville,  where  it  approaches  near  the  surface  in  the 
ravines  and  on  the  main  creek,  and  was  first  worked  by  drifting 
into  the  bank  of  the  creek  along  its  outcrop.  On  the  railroad, 
between  Belleville  and  the  river  bluffs,  it  is  reached  by  shafts  sunk 
to  the  depth  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 

At  the  Alma  shaft,  two  miles  east  of  O'Fallon,  the  coal  was  found 
at  the  depth  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  below  the  surface. 
The  seam  is  there  seven  feet  thick,  and  is  overlaid  by  eleven  feet  of 


ST.    CLAIE   COUNTY.  239 

black  shale  and  limestone.  Above  this  there  are  seventeen  feet  of 
shale  -and  sandstone,  overlaid  by  about  three  feet  of  limestone, 
probably  representing  the  quarry  rock  at  Belleville. 

At  Mascoutah  the  coal  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet  below 
the  surface,  and  the  seam  is  there  seven  feet  thick,  overlaid  by  lime- 
stone. Near  Urbana  the  coal  has  been  found  at  about  the  same 
depth  below  the  surface,  and  six  and  a  half  feet  thick. 

The  Belleville  coal  is  also  opened  at  many  points  along  its  outcrop 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  county.  Teter's  mine  is  about  three 
miles  nearly  south  of  Urbana,  and  the  coal  is  exposed  on  a  small 
branch  running  into  Silver  creek.  The  coal  retains,  here,  its  full 
thickness  of  about  seven  feet,  and  is  overlaid  by  two  feet  of  shale, 
and,  above  this,  limestone  is  seen  near  by.  At  Pfeiffer's  place,  on 
section  19,  township  1  south,  range  8  west,  and  at  Belsha's  place, 
four  miles  north  of  Athens,  this  seam  is  worked  by  horizontal  drifts 
on  the  hill  sides.  At  these  localities  it  is  from  six  to  seven  feet 
thick,  and  is  overlaid  by  limestone.  The  general  dip  of  the  coal 
seams  in  this  county  appears  to  be  a  little  north  of  east,  and  not 
more  than  five  or  six  feet  to  the  mile. 

The  next  seam  below  the  Belleville  coal  has  only  been  opened  at  a 
single  locality,  so  far  as  we  have  seen,  which  is  at  the  old  Pittsburg 
mines  at  the  river  bluffs,  about  one  mile  north  of  Centreville  station. 
It  is  here  about  three  feet  thick,  and  is  overlaid  by  bituminous 
shale  and  three  feet  of  brown  argillaceous  limestone.  The  lowest 
seam  we  did  not  find  exposed  at  the  surface,  but  it  was  found  in 
sinking  a  shaft  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff  at  this  point.  It  is  probably 
the  equivalent  of  the  Alton  coal.  It  was  too  thin  at  this  point  to 
be  of  any  economical  value. 

In  addition  to  the  Coal  Measure  limestones  already  mentioned  in 
connection  with  the  main  coal  seam,  there  is  another  bed  holding 
a  considerably  higher  position,  which  outcrops  at  two  or  three  points 
in  this  county.  It  was  first  seen  in  crossing  a  tolerably  high  ridge 
about  two  miles  north  of  Belleville.  It  is  from  four  to  five  feet  thick 
at  this  point.  It  outcrops  again  on  Eock  Spring  branch,  about  two 
miles  southwest  of  Lebanon,  where  there  appeared  to  be  two  thin 
beds  of  limestone  separated  by  three  or  four  feet  of  shale.  It  dips 
gently  to  the  eastward,  the  dip  being  a  little  more  than  the  fall  of 
the  creek,  which  runs  in  the  same  direction.  The  rock  is  a  very 
hard  dark-gray  limestone,  and  weathers  to  a  dirty-brown  color.  It 
splits  to  fragments  when  exposed  to  frost,  and  is  not  reliable  for  a 
building  stone.  The  stone  used  in  the  abutments  of  the  railroad 
bridge  near  Lebanon  was  obtained  from  this  bed.  This  may  be 


240  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

equivalent  to  the  limestone  at  Collinsville,  which  it  somewhat  resem- 
bles, and  which  is  there  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  feet  above 
the  Belleville  coal.  Many  of  the  thin  bands  of  limestone  found  in 
the  Coal  Measures  are  probably  quite  local  in  their  development,  and 
therefore  are  not  to  be  identified  over  wide  areas. 

From  what  has  already  been  said,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Coal 
Measures  underlie  nearly  all  the  high  land  in  the  county,  excepting 
only  a  narrow  belt,  from  three  to  five  miles  in  width,  across  the 
southwestern  border ;  and  the  coal  lands  of  this  county  are  not  only 
valuable  for  their  mineral  deposits,  but  they  are  among  the  most 
productive  agricultural  lands  in  Southern  Illinois.  As  the  most  valu- 
able deposits  of  coal  in  this  portion  of  the  State  lie  near  the  base 
of  the  Coal  Measures,  the  thickest  seams  outcrop  along  the  western 
and  southwestern  borders  of  the  county,  and  are  found  at  a  greater 
depth  below  the  surface  in  the  eastern  and  northeastern  portion. 
The  Conglomerate  appears  to  be  quite  thin  in  this  county,  and  no 
exposure  was  met  with  where  it  was  more  than  ten  or  twelve  feet 
in  thickness.  * 

Lower  Carboniferous  Limestone. 

Chester  Group. — This  group,  which  is  at  least  six  hundred  feet 
thick  in  the  southern  part  of  Eandolph  county,  has  already  thinned 
out,  before  reaching  the  southern  part  of  St.  Clair,  to  an  aggregate 
of  less  than  a  hundred  feet,  and  includes  only  the  lower  sandstone 
and  a  thin  bed  of  limestone,  which  probably  represents  also  the 
lower  limestone  division  in  Eandolph  county.  These  beds  outcrop 
around  the  southwestern  borders  of  the  coal  field  in  this  county, 
commencing  in  the  river  bluffs  about  two  miles  below  Centreville 
station,  and  extending  southeasterly  across  this  portion  of  the  county, 
and  crossing  Eichland  creek  a  few  miles  above  the  north  line  of 
Monroe  county. 

The  limestone  is  a  coarse-grained,  thin-bedded  gray  or  brown 
limestone,  with  partings  of  argillaceous  material,  and  contains  nu- 
merous fossils  characteristic  of  this  horizon.  Among  these  we  may 
mention  Archimedes  Swallovana,  Pentremites  Cherokeeus,  P.  godoni, 
Retzia  vera,  Spirifer  bisulcata  and  Spiriferina'octoplicata,  all  of  which 
wrere  found  at  the  exposure  of  this  rock  on  Eichland  creek.  The 
entire  thickness  of  this  limestone  in  St.  Clair  county  may  be  as 
much  as  thirty  or  forty  feet,  but  no  single  exposure  was  met  with 
that  exhibited  a  thickness  of  more  than  twenty  feet.  The  principal 
outcrops  seen  along  the  west  fork  of  Eichland  creek,  from  the  north- 


ST.    CLAIK   COUNTY.  241 

east  corner  of  township  2  south,  range  9  west,  to  jts  junction  with 
the  main  creek,  and  also  along  that  to  the  south  line  of  the  county. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  anti-clinal  axis  that  intersects  the  river 
bluffs  just  above  the  Monroe  county  line,  there  is  an  outlier  of  this 
limestone  about  fifteen  feet  in  thickness,  which  is  here  separated 
from  the  underlying  St.  Louis  limestone  by  about  ten  feet  of  sand- 
stone. It  is  overlaid  by  the  shales  and  argillaceous  limestones  of 
the  Coal  Measures,  inclosing  a  thin  coal  seam.  North  of  this  axis 
we  did  not  find  this  limestone  exposed  anywhere  in  the  river  bluffs 
in  this  county. 

The  lower  sandstone  of  the  Chester  group  underlies  the  limestone 
just  described,  and  its  outcrop  is  consequently  over  a  belt  of  the 
country  to  the  south  and  west  of  that  occupied  by  the  lim'estone. 
At  Wm.  Lark's  quarries,  in  the  western  part  of  township  1  north, 
range  9  west,  about  thirty  feet  of  the  lower  part  of  this  sandstone 
is  extensively  quarried  for  building  purposes.  Part  of  the  bed  is  in 
regular  layers  from  one  to  three  feet  in  thickness,  and  some 
portions  of  it  present  a  concretionary  structure,  with  but  slight 
indications  of  stratification.  It  is  a  light  brown  freestone,  even 
textured  and  soft  enough  to  be  cut  or  sawed  in  any  desirable  form. 
It  hardens  on  exposure,  and  makes  an  excellent  building  stone, 
unsurpassed  by  any  sandstone  at  present  known  in  this  portion  of 
the  State.  A  single  contract  was  filled,  by  the  owners  of  this  quarry, 
to  furnish  material  to  the  amount  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  for  the 
construction  of  Grace  church  in  St.  Louis.  With  the  proper  facili- 
ties for  cheap  transportation  from  these  quarries  to  St.  Louis,  they 
would  afford  an  immense  amount  of  excellent  building  material  at 
a  moderate  cost,  and  would  prove  a  source  of  great  profit  to  the 
present  owners.  The  underlying  limestones  of  the  St.  Louis  group 
outcrop  immediately  beneath  the  sandstones  near  these  quarries. 

From  this  point  the  outcrop  of  this  sandstone  trends  off  to  the 
southeast,  and  it  may  be  seen  all  along  Stone  creek,  from  its  head 
waters  to  the  Monroe  county  line.  No  fossils  have  yet  been  found 
in  it,  either  in  this  county  or  elsewhere ;  but  it  is  easily  distin- 
guished from  the  Conglomerate  sandstone  of  the  lower  Coal  Measures 
by  its  fine  and  even  texture,  soft  brown  color,  and  the  absence  of 
pebbles  or  coarse  conglomerate  in  any  part  of  the  bed.  As  a  build- 
ing stone,  especially  where  elaborate  ornamentation  is  to  be 
displayed,  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  freestones  yet  discovered 
in  this  State.  We  did  not  see  its  full  thickness  exposed  anywhere 
—16 


242  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

in  this  county,  in  a  single  section,  but  we  have  estimated  it  approxi- 
mately at  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet. 

St.  Louis  Limestone. — This  important  division  of  the  lower  Car- 
boniferous series  makes  its  first  appearance  in  the  river  bluffs  about 
three  miles  below  the  Centreville  station,  where  it  comes  up  from 
beneath  the  sandstones  just  described,  and  it  forms  the  main  por- 
tion of  the  bluff  from  this  point  to  the  Monroe  county  line.  At  the 
old  lime  kilns,  four  miles  below  Centreville  station,  it  forms  a  mural 
cliff,  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet  high,  and  continues  gradually 
increasing  in  elevation  to  "Falling  Springs,"  where  it  measures  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  feet  in  thickness  above  the  level  of  the  Missis- 
sippi bottoms. 

It  presents  here  its  usual  character  of  a  regularly-bedded,  fine- 
grained limestone,  of  a  light  gray  color  and  compact  structure. 
The  beds  vary  in  thickness  from  three  inches  to  two  feet  or  more. 
The  upper  portion  of  the  mass  is  a  very  pure  carbonate  of  lime, 
and  appears  to  be  as  well  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  quicklime 
here  as  it  is  at  St.  Louis  and  Alton.  As  we  approach  the  Monroe 
county  line  the  beds  continue  to  rise,  and  the  brown  magnesian 
and  semi-oolitic  limestones  that  constitute  the  lower  division  of  this 
group  are  elevated  above  the  surface,  and  compose  the  main  portion 
of  the  bluff  at  the  anti-clinal  axis,  about  one  mile  above  the 
southern  line  of  the  county.  Immediately  below  the  axis  the  upper 
beds  of  the  group  again  form  the  entire  bluff,  and  with  a  reversed 
dip,  at  an  angle  of  about  30°,  they  plunge  below  the  level  of  the 
Mississippi  bottom. 

The  uppermost  beds  of  this  group  are  well  exposed  in  the  vicinity 
of  Lark's  quarries,  about  four  miles  from  the  Centreville  station.  At 
this  locality  the  upper  layers  of  the  limestone  are  quite  massive, 
and  afford  solid  blocks  of  limestone  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
feet  thick.  These  thick  beds  at  this  locality  have  furnished  the 
material  for  the  massive  pillars  of  the  new  court  house  in  Belleville. 
At  the  old  lime  kilns,  above  the  "Falling  Springs,"  we  obtained 
some  characteristic  fossils  of  this  limestone,  among  which  were 
Poteriocnnus  Missouriensis,  Graphiocrinus  dactylus,  Productus  ovatus 
and  P.  tenuicostus.  This  limestone  outcrops  only  over  a  very  limited 
area  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  county,  probably  not  more  than 
one-half  of  a  single  township. 

The  lower  division  of  this  group,  as  it  appears  just  above  the  axis 
above  referred  to,  is  made  up  of  alternations  of  brown  and  gray 
limestones,  with  seams  of  blue  marly  clay.  There  is  also  consider- 
able cherty  material  interspersed  through  it,  either  in  seams  or  len- 


ST.     CLAIR    COUNTY.  243 

ticular  masses.  The  rock  is  mostly  thin-bedded  and  softer  than  the 
light  gray  limestone  above,  and  has  not  been  much  used  in  this 
vicinity  as  a  building  stone,  except  at  T.  Miller's  place,  just  on  the 
county  line,  where  quarries  have  been  opened  both  for  building  stone 
and  hydraulic  limestone.  The  strata  from  which  the  latter  is  obtained 
is  about  six  feet  thick,  and  it  appears  to  make  a  tolerable  good  arti- 
cle of  hydraulic  cement.  It  probably  does  not  outcrop  in  any  other 
part  of  the  county.  It  appears  very  much  like  the  hydraulic  lime- 
stone on  the  Piasa,  at  the  county  line  between  Madison  and  Jersey 
counties,  and  holds,  apparently,  about  the  same  stratigraphical  posi- 
tion which  is  at  the  base  of  the  St.  Louis  group.  It  is  a  bluish- 
gray  earthy  limestone,  from  four  to  six  feet  thick,  and  is  quarried 
by  drifting  horizontally  into  the  strata  along  its  line  of  outcrop. 

It  is  probable  that  the  upper  beds  of  the  Keokuk  group  are  ele- 
vated above  the  surface  at  the  axis  above  referred  to,  but  we  met 
with  no  exposure  of  them  in  our  examinations  in  this  part  of  the 
county. 

Economical  Geology. 

Coal. — Bituminous  coal  is  by  far  the  most  important  mineral 
resource  of  this  county.  More  than  four  hundred  and  fifty  square 
miles  of  surface  are  underlaid  by  the  lower  coal  seams  within  its 
limits,  two  of  which  are  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  worked  with 
profit,  and,  taken  together,  will  afford  nearly  or  quite  nine  minions 
of  tons  of  coal  to  the  square  mile.  There  are  but  few  counties  in 
the  State  where  so  large  a  body  of  coal  is  found  so  near  the  sur- 
face, and  where  it  can  be  worked  so  cheaply.  Along  the  river  bluffs, 
and  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county,  both  the  workable  seams 
outcrop  at  or  near  the  surface,  and  in  the  interior  they  are  reached 
by  shafts  at  depths  varying  from  fifty  to  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet. 

The  upper  or  Belleville  seam  is  the  only  one  wrought,  at  the 
present  time ;  but  the  lower  seam  affords  a  very  good  coal,  and  will 
eventually  be  resorted  to  when  the  supply  from  the  upper  seam 
becomes  exhausted.  The  Alton  seam,  which  lies  below  both  those  above 
named,  has  only  been  met  with  in  this  county  at  a  single  locality, 
and  was  there  too  thin  to  be  of  any  economical  value.  It  is  but 
proper  to  say,  however,  that  no  search  has  been  made  for  it  at  any 
other  locality.  The  shafts  that  have  been  sunk  in  pursuit  of  coal 
all  stop  when  the  main  coal  is  reached,  and  no  effort  has  ever  been 
made  to  ascertain  the  thickness  of  the  lower  seams  away  from  their 


244  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

natural  outcrop.  A  boring  carried  down  from  the  main  seam  to  the 
depth  of  seventy-five  or  one  hundred  feet  would  determine  the  thick- 
ness and  consequent  value  of  both  the  lower  seams. 

The  following  analyses  of  the  Belleville  coal  were  made  by  Mr. 
HENEY  PEATTEN,  former  assistant  geologist  and  chemist  of  the 
Survey : 

Casey ville  Mines. 

Specific  gravity 1  304 

Loss  in  coking 39  8 

Total  weight  of  coke 60.2 

—100.00 

ANALYSIS: 

Moisture : 6.0 

Volatile  matters 33.8 

Carbon  in  coke 55.2 

Ash  (pale  red) 5.0 

100.00 

Carbon  in  coal 55.3 

Andreas  Pfeiffer's  Mine. 

Specific  gravity 1.293 

Loss  in  coking 44.3 

Total  weight  of  coke 57.5 

100.00 

ANALYSIS: 

Moisture 8.5 

Volatile  matters 35.8 

Carbon  in  coke 51.2 

Ash  (pale  red) 4.5 

100.00 

Carbon  in  coal 57.5 

Belleville  Mines — Various  Openings. 

Specific  gravity 1.293 

Loss  in  coking 45.0 

Total  weight  of  coke 55.0 

100.00 

ANALYSIS: 

Moisture 5.5 

Volatile  matters .' 39.5 

Carbon  in  coke 49.6 

Ash  (gray) 5.4 

100.00 

Carbon  in  coal ..        54.6 


Belsha's  Middle   Drift. 


Specific  gravity 1.2966 

Loss  in  coking 43 . 66 

Total  weight  of  coke 56.34 

100.00 


ST.    CLAIR   COUNTY.  245 

ANALYSIS: 

Moisture 8.10 

Volatile  matters 35 .56 

Carbon  in  coke , 47.74 

Ash  (gray) 8.60 

100.00 

Carbon  in  coal 54.50 

Dilg  d-  Kempff's  Mine — Average  of  Three  Analyses. 

Specific  gravity 1.3407 

Loss  in  coking 42.51 

Total  weight  of  coke 57.49 

— 100.00 

ANALYSIS  : 

Moisture 4.43 

Volatile  matters 38 .08 

Carbon  in  coke 44.48 

Ash  (gray) 13.01 

— 100.00 
Carbon  in  coal 54.28 

W.  B.  Churchill's  Mine. 

Specific  gravity 1, 315 

Loss  in  coking 45.40 

Total  weight  of  coke 54.60 

— 100.00 
ANALYSIS: 

Moisture 6.00 

Volatile  matters 39.40 

Carbon  in  coke 45 .70 

Ashes  (white) 8, 90 

— 100.00 
Carbon  in  coal 52.63 

From  these  analyses  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Belleville  coal  in 
this  county  will  compare  favorably  with  the  average  of  western 
bituminous  coals  from  other  localities,  either  of  this  or  the  adjoin- 
ing States. 

Iron  Ore. — In  the  section  on  Jack's  run,  about  one  mile  east  of 
Urbana,  there  is  considerable  brown  carbonate  of  iron  disseminated 
through  a  bed  of  argillaceous  shale.  The  ore  occurs  in  bands  from 
two  to  three  inches  thick,  and  extends  quite  through  the  bed  of 
shale,  which  is  here  about  fifteen  feet  in  thickness.  The  aggregate 
thickness  of  the  iron  ore,  if  in  single  stratum,  would  be  at  least 
two  feet,  and  would  then  constitute  a  deposit  of  considerable  value. 

The  junction  of  the  Chester  sandstones  with  the  St.  Louis  lime- 
stone frequently  exhibits  ferruginous  deposits  of  greater  or  less 
value,  but  so  far  as  we  were  able  to  learn  during  our  examinations 
in  St.  Clair  county,  no  valuable  beds  of  ore  have  yet  been  discov- 
ered at  this  horizon. 


246  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

Fire  and  Potters'  Clays. — Valuable  beds  of  clay,  suitable  for  the 
potter's  use  and  for  manufacturing  fire  brick,  are  very  generally 
associated  with  the  two  lower  coal  seams,  and  especially  with  the 
lowest.  But  the  outcrop  of  this  seam  is  so  generally  hidden,  that 
little  yet  is  known  of  the  character  and  value  of  the  clays  associated 
with  it  in  this  county.  A  careful  search  for  this  material,  at  the 
extreme  southwestern  borders  of  the  coal  field,  would  most  likely 
result  in  the  discovery  of  valuable  deposits  of  this  kind.  The  blue 
plastic  clay,  which  forms  the  base  of  the  drift  in  this  portion  of  the 
State,  appears  to  be  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  common  stone 
ware,  and  may,  no  doubt,  be  advantageously  used  for  this  purpose. 
In  the  vicinity  of  Lark's  quarries,  four  miles  south  of  Centreville 
station,  we  observed  deposits  of  this  clay  five  or  six  feet  in  thick- 
ness, of  variegated  color,  and  quite  free  from  sand  or  gravel. 

Hydraulic  Limestone. — A  bed  of  this  material,  six  feet  thick,  is 
found  at  the  base  of  the  St.  Louis  group,  on  T.  Miller's  place,  near 
the  south  line  and  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  county.  A  cement 
mill  has  been  in  successful  operation  here  for  several  years.  The 
material  is  a  bluish-gray  earthy  limestone,  and  is  quarried  by  drifting 
horizontally  into  the  bed  along  the  line  of  outcrop.  Owing  to  the 
absence  of  the  proprietor,  at  the  time  we  visited  that  locality,  we 
were  not  able  to  obtain  any  statistics  or  reliable  information  in 
regard  to  the  amount  of  cement  annually  manufactured  here.  The 
same  bed  may,  no  doubt,  be  found  at  other  localities  in  this 
vicinity. 

Building  Stone. — St.  Clair  county  contains  an  abundant  supply  of 
excellent  building  stone,  though  it  is  not  generally  distributed  through- 
out the  county,  but  is  confined  mainly  to  the  southwest  portion,  where 
the  lower  Carboniferous  limestones  outcrop  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
river  bluffs.  Nearly  all  the  limestones  and  sandstones  of  this  divi- 
sion of  the  Carboniferous  system,  that  outcrop  in  this  county,  com- 
prising a  thickness  of  more  than  thre'e  hundred  feet,  may  be  made 
available  for  all  economical  purposes.  The  lower  sandstone  of  the 
Chester  group  affords  a  beautiful  yellowish-brown  freestone,  that  is 
easily  cut  into  any  desirable  form,  and  makes  a  valuable  material 
for  outside  walls,  where  architectural  beauty  and  taste  are  to  be  dis- 
played. The  quarries  opened  by  Mr.  Lark,  four  miles  from  Centre- 
ville station,  present  a  solid  face  of  this  sandstone  about  thirty  feet 
in  thickness,  and  will  afford  an  almost  inexhaustible  supply  of  this 
excellent  freestone.  It  is,  perhaps,  too  soft  to  be  used  in  massive 
walls,  though  it  apparently  hardens  slightly  on  exposure  to  the 


ST.    CLAIR    COUNTY.  247 

atmosphere.  Some  of  the  coarser  layers  of  sandstone  at  these  quar- 
ries have  been  manufactured  into  grindstones,  for  which  it  seems 
well  adapted. 

The  overlying  Chester  limestone,  though  only  appearing  in  this 
county  in  thin  beds,  will  furnish  a  very  good  material  for  founda- 
tion walls,  abutments,  etc.  The  St.  Louis  limestone  is  more  than 
two  hundred  feet  thick  in  this  county,  and  forms  the  main  portion 
of  the  bluff  from  a  point  two  miles  below  Centreville  station  to  the 
south  line  of  the  county.  Some  of  the  upper  beds  are  of  the  proper 
thickness  for  flagstones,  while  others  are  quite  massive,  affording 
dimension  stone  from  two  to  three  feet  in  thickness,  and  of  any 
desirable  size.  Nearly  the  whole  mass  may  be  made  available  for 
building  purposes,  and  it  will  furnish  suitable  material  for  all  the 
ordinary  uses  to  which  building  stone  is  applied.  The  light  gray 
limestones  of  the  upper  part  of  the  bed  can  be  readily  cut  for  caps 
and  sills,  and  some  of  the  compact  fine-grained  strata  will  take  a 
fine  polish,  and  may  hereafter  prove  valuable  as  an  ornamental 
marble.  The  lower  beds  of  this  formation,  which  overlie  the  hydraulic 
limestone  above  mentioned,  are  somewhat  magnesian  in  their  com- 
position, and  wherever  the  strata  are  thick  enough  for  heavy  walls, 
for  culverts  and  abutments,  they  will  afford  an  excellent  material 
for  such  purposes. 

There  are  three  or  four  beds  of  Coal  Measure  limestone  in  this 
county  that  have  been  more  or  less  used  to  supply  the  local  demand 
for  building  stone  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  their  outcrop.  Per- 
haps the  most  valuable  of  these  is  the  second  limestone  above  the 
Belleville  coal,  which  is  quarried  in  the  vicinity  of  Belleville,  where 
it  appears  to  attain  a  greater  thickness  than  at  any  other  point 
where  it  has  been  seen  in  this  county.  It  is  usually  of  a  light  gray 
or  brownish-gray  color,  and  when  free  from  argillaceous  matter  it 
stands  exposure  and  becomes  a  reliable  stone.  It  has  been  exten- 
sively used  in  Belleville  for  foundation  walls,  macadamizing  material, 
etc.  Its  thickness  at  this  point  probably  does  not  exceed  eight  or 
ten  feet ;  and  in  the  river  bluff  at  the  old  Petersburg  mines,  as  well  as  one 
or  two  other  points  where  it  was  exposed  in  this  county,  it  is  not  above 
four  feet  thick.  The  limestone  that  forms  the  roof  to  the  main  coal 
in  this  county  is  too  irregularly  bedded  arid  too  argillaceous  to  make 
it  a  desirable  building  stone.  The  limestone  between  O'Fallon  and 
Lebanon  furnished  the  abutments  for  the  railroad  bridge  on  Silver 
creek,  west  of  Lebanon,  but  it  splits  on  exposure  to  frost  and  moisture, 
and  is  not  reliable.  In  the  section  on  Jack's  run,  east  of  Urbana, 
there  is  a  bed  of  sandstone  twenty  feet  or  more  in  thickness,  which 


248  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

appears  to  stand  exposure  tolerably  well,  and  will  probably  afford 
some  good  material  for  foundation  walls  if  carefully  selected.  Usu- 
ally the  sandstones  of  the  Coal  Measures  are  rather  soft  and  inco- 
herent, and  consequently  crumble  readily  on  exposure  at  the  surface, 
but  when  they  are  sufficiently  hard  to  withstand  the  weather,  and 
present  perpendicular  walls  along  the  natural  outcrop,  they  may  be 
accepted  for  economical  use,  and  especially  for  dry  walls. 

Limestone  for  Lime. — The  only  material  in  this  county  really  fit 
for  making  a  superior  article  of  quick  lime,  is  that  afforded  by  the 
upper  beds  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone.  The  principal  outcrop  of 
this  limestone  is  in  the  river  bluffs  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Falling 
Spring.  This  vicinity  alone  would  furnish  material  enough  to 
supply  all  the  southern  portion  of  the  State  with  the  best  quality 
of  lime,  from  exactly  the  same  beds  of  limestone  that  are  worked 
at  Alton  and  St.  Louis  for  this  purpose.  The  near  proximity  of 
this  limestone  to  the  coal  seams  would  make  this  a  desirable  point 
at  which  to  carry  on  this  branch  of  manufactures  on  an  extensive 
scale,  whenever  proper  facilities  are  afforded  for  transporting  the 
product  to  market. 

From  what  has  been  already  said  in  the  foregoing  pages,  it  will 
be  apparent  that  the  natural  advantages  of  this  county  are  equalled 
by  few  in  the  State.  It  possesses  a  soil  unsurpassed  in  productive 
capacities  by  any  other  portion  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  of  equal 
extent,  and  contains  within  its  own  borders  inexhaustible  stores  of 
bituminous  coal,  that  will  furnish  the  most  economical  motive  power 
for  manufacturing  purposes,  mills,  etc.,  thereby  enabling  the  inhab- 
itants to  reap  the  full  benefit  of  their  great  agricultural  resources 
at  home,  without  being  compelled  to  share  them  with  foreign  man- 
ufacturers abroad.  Its  location  near  one  of  the  most  important 
commercial  centres  of  the  great  West  gives  it  the  advantage  of  a 
near  and  easily  accessible  market  for  the  various  products  of  the 
farm  and  garden,  that  will  not  bear  the  delay  or  the  cost  of  trans- 
portation to  a  remote  market.  With  such  natural  resources,  and 
peopled  with  a  hardy  and  industrious  population,  this  county  may 
always  retain  its  present  enviable  position  as  one  of  the  most  popu- 
lous and  wealthy  counties  within  the  limits  of  the  State. 


CHAP-TEE  XI. 

MADISON   COUNTY. 


This  county  is  situated  on  the  western  border  of  the  State,  and 
comprises  an  area  of  about  twenty-one  townships  or  seven  hundred 
and  fifty-six  square  miles.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Macoupin, 
Jersey  and  Montgomery  counties ;  on  the  east  by  Bond  county ;  on 
the  south  by  Clinton  and  St.  Clair  counties,  and  on  the  west  by 
Jersey  county  and  the  Mississippi  river.  It  is  intersected  by  several 
small  streams,  among  which  are  Wood  river  and  Cahokia,  Piasa 
and  Silver  creeks.  These,  with  the  Mississippi  river,  which  forms 
the  western  boundary  of  the  county,  furnish  an  abundant  supply  of 
water. 

The  western  portion  of  the  county  is  diversified  with  hills  and 
valleys,  and  the  streams  are  all  skirted  with  belts  of  excellent  tim- 
ber, that  furnish  an  ample  supply  for  the  adjacent  prairie.  The 
principal  varieties  of  timber  found  on  the  uplands  in  this  county 
are  black,  white  and  red  oak,  shell-bark  and  pig-nut  hickory,  linden, 
wild  cherry,  honey  locust,  red-bud,  dog-wood  and  sassafras.  On  the 
creek  and  river  bottoms  we  find  cotton-wood,  sycamore,  red  and 
slippery  elm,  hackberry,  black  and  white  walnut,  red  birch,  willow, 
soft  maple,  sugar  maple,  box  elder,  white  and  black  ash,  swamp 
oak,  burr  oak,  pecan,  mulberry  and  persimmon.  The  central  and 
eastern*  portions  of  the  county  are  generally  level  or  gently  rolling, 
and  small  prairies  occupy  the  highlands  between  the  streams.  The 
general  elevation  of  the  uplands  above  the  level  of  the  Mississippi 
is  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  feet. 

The  soil  on  the  uplands  is  generally  a  dark,  chocolate  colored 
clay  loam,  except  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  bluffs,  where  it  is  of  a 
lighter  color  and  more  arenaceous,  from  an  admixture  of  the  marly 
sands  of  the  loess.  The  sub-soil  is  usually  a  brown  clay,  on  all  the 


250  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY    OF    ILLINOIS. 

uplands  remote  from  the  river  bluffs ;  but  as  we  approach  the 
bluffs  from  the  interior  of  the  county,  we  find  the  sub-soil  becoming 
more  sandy  until  the  soil  rests  directly  upon  the  marly  sands  of 
the  loess,  which  caps  the  bluffs  throughout  the  county.  These  bluff 
lands,  from  the  sandy  character  of  the  material  of  which  they  are 
composed,  are  readily  and  freely  drained,  and  from  the  open,  porous 
character  of  the  sub-soil,  are  seldom  charged  with  a  superabundance 
of  water,  and  are  better  adapted  to  the  growth  of  fruit  than  any 
other  lands  in  the  county.  They  also  produce  good  crops  of  all  the 
cereals  usually  grown  in  this  latitude. 

The  western  border  of  this  county  is  occupied  by  a  belt  of  bottom 
land  that  comprises  the  northern  extremity  of  the  American  Bottom, 
which  commences  just  below  the  city  of  Alton  and  extends  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Okaw,  in  Eandolph  county.  Its  width  in  this  county 
varies  from  one  to  six  miles.  A  considerable  portion  of  this  bottom 
is  below  the  high-water  level  of  the  Mississippi,  and  is  therefore 
subject  to  periodical  inundations  from  the  annual  overflows  of  the 
river,  while  other  portions  are  above  high-water  mafk,  and  owe 
their  origin  to  some  other  cause  than  the  existing  river.  It  seems 
probable,  indeed,  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  area  now  com- 
prised in  this  bottom,  was  originally  occupied  by  deposits  of  drift 
clay  and  loess,  that  were  deposited  after  the  valley  was  scooped  out 
of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestones,  filling  the  valley  to  the 
height  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet  above  its  present  level,  and  were  in  part 
removed  by  subsequent  erosion  during  the  period  of  elevation  and 
drainage  that  succeeded  the  Drift  epoch. 

In  proof  of  this,  there  are  many  elevations  scattered  over  the 
surface  of  this  bottom,  locally  known  as  "  mounds, "  the  formation  of 
which  have  very  generally  been  referred  to  human  agencies.  These 
elevations  vary  in  height  from  ten  to  sixty  feet  or  more  above  the 
level  of  the  surrounding  bottom,  and  when  carefully  examined  are 
found  to  consist  of  drift  clay  and  loess,  remaining  in  situ  just  as 
they  appear  along  the  river  bluffs,  where  similar  mounds  have  been 
formed  in  the  same  way  by  the  removal  of  the  surrounding  strata 
by  currents  of  water.  We  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing* a  good 
section  of  the  large  mound  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city  of  St. 
Louis  exposed,  by  digging  into  the  upper  end  of  the  mound  for 
material  to  be  used  in  filling  the  adjacent  lots.  It  was  found  to 
consist  of  about  fifteen  feet  of  common  chocolate-brown  drift  clay 
at  the  base,  which  was  overlaid  by  thirty  feet  or  more  of  the  ash 
colored  marly  sands  of  the  loess,  the  line  of  separation  between  the 


MADISON   COUNTY.  251 

two  deposits  remaining  as  distinct  and  well  denned  as  they  usually 
are  in  good  artificial  sections  in  the  railroad  cuts  through  these 
deposits. 

Hence  we  infer  that  these  mounds  are  not  artificial  elevations, 
raised  by  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  country,  as  has  been 
assumed  by  antiquaries  generally,  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  are 
simply  outliers  of  loess  and  drift,  that  have  remained  as  originally 
deposited,  while  the  surrounding  cotemporaneous  strata  were  swept 
away  by  denuding  forces.  They  are  not  found  to  occupy  any  fixed 
relative  position  in  relation  to  each  other,  or  to  have  any  regularity 
of  size  or  elevation,  but  our  antiquarians  appear  to  have  inferred 
that  they  were  raised  simply  to  serve  as  burial  places  for  the  dead. 
But  the  simple  fact  that  they  were  used  for  this  purpose  by  the 
aborigines,  which  seems  to  be  the  main  argument  relied  on  as  a 
proof  of  their  artificial  origin,  seems  to  me  entirely  inadequate  to 
sustain  such  a  conclusion,  and  they  were  perhaps  only  selected  by 
them  for  this  purpose  on  account  of  their  elevated  position,  for  the 
same  reason  that  they  selected  the  highest  point  of  a  bluff  in  pre- 
ference to  any  lower  point,  to  serve  as  the  last  resting  place  for  the 
earthly  bodies  of  their  relatives  and  friends.  I  have  very  little  doubt 
that  many  of  the  so-called  Indian  Mounds,  in  this  State  at  least,  if 
carefully  examined,  would  prove  to  be  only  natural  elevations  pro- 
duced by  the  causes  above  named. 

The  soil  on  the  American  Bottom,  in  this  county,  is  a  deep,  mellow, 
sandy  loam,  exceedingly  fertile,  and  producing  excellent  crops  of 
corn,  oats,  potatoes,  etc.,  with  but  little  labor.  The  city  of  St.  Louis 
is  mainly  supplied  with  vegetables  from  the  gardens  that  are  estab- 
lished on  this  rich  bottom  land.  Much  of  its  surface  is  subject  to 
overflow  from  the  high  water  of  the  Mississippi,  but  wherever  it  is 
sufficiently  elevated  to  be  free  from  the  danger  of  submergence,  it 
may  be  considered  as  the  most  valuable  land  in  the  county.  Some 
portions  of  it  are  low  and  swampy,  and  are  too  wet  for  cultivation. 
These  wet  places,  however,  are  gradually  filling  up  by  the  wash  from 
the  surrounding  high  lands,  and  will  eventually  become  dry  and 
susceptible  of  cultivation. 

The  loess  attains  a  thickness  in  this  county  of  from  forty  to  eighty 
feet,  and  attains  its  maximum  thickness  on  top  of  the  river  bluffs, 
thinning  out  gradually  towards  the  interior  of  the  county.  Where 
the  loess  and  drift  are  both  present,  the  latter  always  underlies  the 
former,  but  sometimes  the  drift  appears  to  have  been  removed  by 
currents  previous  to  the  deposit  of  the  loess,  and  the  latter  then 
rests  directly  upon  the  stratified  rocks.  It  is  usually  filled  with  land 


252  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

and  fresh  water  shells,  and  occasionally  the  bones  of  extinct  land 
animals  of  the  higher  orders  are  found  inclosed  in  it.  A  portion  of 
a  jaw-bone  of  a  Mastodon,  with  the  teeth  remaining,  was  found  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  loess,  just  above  the  city  of  Alton.  This 
specimen  was  found  about  thirty  feet  below  the  surface,  and  near 
the  bottom  of  the  loess,  where  it  was  only  separated  from  the  lime- 
stone by  two  or  three  feet  of  local  drift.  The  bones  were  of  a  chalky- 
whiteness  and  in  a  very  fine  state  of  preservation. 

A  heavy  deposit  of  drift  originally  covered  all  the  uplands  in  this 
county  to  the  depth  of  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  or  more,  but  it  has 
locally  been  subjected  to  secondary  influences  that  have,  in  some 
cases,  partially  or  wholly  removed  it,  and  modified  to  some  extent 
the  original  surface  conditions  and  outlines.  In  ,the  southeastern 
portion  of  the  county  the  surface  appears  to  have  been  subjected  to 
an  amount  of  erosion  sufficient  to  remove  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  upper  part  of  the  drift,  leaving  elevated  mound-like  ridges  to 
indicate  the  former  elevation  of  the  whole  surface.  These  eleva- 
tions are  usually  covered  with  timber,  and  form  beautiful  sites  for 
buildings. 

The  drift  deposits  in  this  county  consists  mainly  of  yellow  and 
brown  clays,  intermingled  with  gravel ;  and  occasionally  a  few  boulders 
of  considerable  size  are  found,  but  they  are  not  as  abundant  here 
as  at  more  northern  localities.  At  the  base  of  the  deposit  there  is 
usually  a  bed  of  blue  plastic  clay,  from  five  to  ten  feet  thick,  and 
sometimes  there  are  a  few  feet  of  sandy  material  between  the  blue 
clay  and  the  yellow  clays  above.  The  sandy  beds  form  the  principal 
water  horizon  of  the  drift,  and  they  serve  as  a  medium  for  the  recep- 
tion and  transmission  of  underground  currents,  that  furnish  an 
abundant  supply  of  water  for  ordinary  use. 

The  Quaternary  deposits,  which  include  the  alluvium,  loess  and 
drift,  are  of  the  greatest  economical  value  and  importance,  because 
the  soil  is  everywhere  based  upon  one  or  another  of  these  sub- 
divisions, and  owes  its  peculiar  features  to  the  character  of  the  strata 
on  which  it  rests,  and  from  which  its  inorganic  matters  have  been 
derived.  All  soils  consist  mainly  of  the  pulverized  remains  of  pre- 
existing rocks,  and  their  fertility  depends  as  much  upon  the  mechan- 
ical condition  of  the  material  as  upon  its  chemical  composition.  The 
conditions  under  which  the  drift  clays  were  accumulated  were  such 
as  to  reduce  the  various  rocks  from  which  the  material  was  derived 
to  the  condition  of  a  fine  sediment,  that  was  deposited  at  the  end  of 
that  period  in  the  form  of  a  finely  pulverized  clay,  intermingled  with 
silica  in  the  form  of  sand,  magnesia  and  lime,  in  such  proportions 


MADISON   COUNTY.  253 

as  to  form  a  soil  of  inexhaustible  fertility,  under  a  judicious  system 
of  cultivation.  To  these  mineral  ingredients  have  since  been  added 
the  organic  matter  derived  from  the  successive  growths  of  vegetable 
and  animal  life,  that  have  from  year  to  year  matured  and  decayed 
upon  the  surface,  all  of  -which  have  entered  into,  and  gone  to  make 
up,  the  soil  in  its  present  condition.  This  organic  matter  has 
furnished  the  carbonaceous  material  to  which  the  black  color  of  the 
soil  is  mainly  due,  and  the  phosphates,  the  ammonia,  and  other 
animal  substances  which  have  added  greatly  to  its  productive  qual- 
ities. 

The  presence  of  these  deposits  over  nearly  the  entire  surface  of 
the  State,  gives  that  uniform  character  to  the  soil  which  forms  so 
marked  a  feature  in  its  surface  geology,  and  makes  it  one  of  the 
finest  agricultural  regions  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  The  soils  based 
upon  the  loess  contain  a  smaller  amount  of  alumina  and  a  larger 
per  cent,  of  silica  than  the  ordinary  drift  soils,  and  from  the  porous 
nature  of  the  sub-soil  it  absorbs  water  freely,  and  withs lands  the 
extremes  of  both  wet  and  dry  seasons  much  better  than  the  ordinary 
clay  soils.  The  calcareous  and  marly  portions  of  the  loess  may  be 
used  to  advantage  as  a  fertilizer  on  sour  and  wet  clay  soils. 

The  stratified  rocks  in  this  county  comprise  the  lower  portion  of 
the  Coal  Measures,  and  a  part  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestones. 
The  Coal  Measures  in  this  county  comprise  a  thickness  of  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  include  the  lower  portion  of  the  meas- 
ures from  the  base  to  the  horizon  of  coal  seam  No.  9  of  the  general 
section.  The  following  vertical  section  will  give  a  general  idea  of  the 
character  of  the  Coal  Measures  in  this  county,  and  the  relative  posi- 
tion and  thickness  of  the  strata  which  they  afford.  The  upper  part 
of  the  section  was  obtained  mainly  from  the  shaft  at  Highland,* 
and  the  lower  part  from  exposures  on  Wood  river  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  Alton: 

Sandy  shale  exposed  in  the  vicinity  of  Highland 15  feet  0  inches 

Calcareous  shale,  with  fossil  shells 3  "  0 

Compact  blue  limestone,  weathering  to  a  rusty  brown  color 4  "  0 

Gray  shale,  with  septaria. 10  "  0 

CoalNo.9 : 1  "  6 

Gray  shale 21  "  6       " 

Calcareous  shale,  with  fossil  shells '. 2  ".  0 

Bituminous  shale,  with  six-inch  seam  of  coal 22  "  0       " 

Sandstone  and  sandy  shales,  with  three  or  four  seams  of  bitumin- 
ous shale  about  one  foot  in  thickness 104  "  0 

Limestone 1  "  10       " 

*  We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  BANDELIEE,  of  Highland,  for  a  section  of  the  strata  passed 
through  in  the  shaft  sunk  for  coal  at  that  point. 


254  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Bituminous  shale  and  coal feet  t>  inches 

Fire-clay 1  "  6       " 

Clay  shale 50  "  0 

Coal  passed  through  in  the  Edwardsville  shaft  (probably  local)  ...  2  "  0       " 

Limestone  and  bands  of  calcareous  shales 15  to  23  "  0       " 

Coal  No.  6  (Wood  river  and  Edwardsville) 5  to    7  "  0 

Fire-clay : 3  to    6  "  0 

Nodular  limestone 5  to    8  "  0       " 

Sandy  shales 40  to  50  "  0       " 

Bituminous  shale  (local) 1  "  6 

Coal,  Alton  seam.  No.  1  2%  to    3  "  0       " 

Fire-clay  and  clay  shale 3  to    6  "  0 

The  Coal  Measures  underlie  nearly  pll  the  uplands  in  this  county, 
and  attain  their  greatest  thickness  in  the  eastern  portion,  but  thin 
out  towards  the  river  bluffs  on  the  west.  The  upper  part  of  the 
measures  outcrop  on  Silver  creek,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county, 
and  also  on  Wood  river,  near  the  north  line ;  but  the  exposures  are 
limited,  and  sometimes  widely  separated,  so  that  it  would  be  quite 
impossible  to  construct  a  complete  section  from  the  natural  exposures 
along  the  streams.  The  upper  part  of  the  measures  in  this  county 
contain  but  one  coal  seam,  and  that  seldom  exceeds  a  thickness  of 
eighteen  or  twenty  inches,  and  is  consequently  of  little  economical 
importance.  It  outcrops  in  the  vicinity  of  Highland,  and  has  been 
worked  at  several  points  to  supply  the  local  demand  for  coal.  It 
will  probably  be  found  also  on  Wood  river  and  Silver  creek,  in  the 
northeast  part  of  the  county,  where  it  will,  perhaps,  be  still  too  thin 
to  work  with  profit. 

The  lower  measures,  as  they  are  developed  in  the  western  portion 
of  the  county,  contain  the  horizon  of  four  coal  seams,  two  of  which 
are  already  known,  and  from  these  the  present  supply  of  coal  is 
obtained.  Below  the  nodular  argillaceous  limestone,  which  underlies 
the  main  coal  on  Wood  river,  we  find  in  the  adjoining  county  of 
St.  Clair,  first,  a  few  feet  of  sandy  or  argillaceous  shale,  and  then 
a  band  of  brownish-gray  argillaceous  limestone,  and  sometimes  a 
bituminous  shale,  that  forms  the  roof  to  a  lower  coal  seam,  which 
at  the  old  Pittsburg  mines,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Belleville  and 
St.  Louis  railroad,  is  about  three  feet  in  thickness. 

At  Edwardsville  the  Belleville  coal  is  found  at  a  depth  of  from 
eighty  to  ninety  feet  below  the  surface,  and  in  sinking  the  shaft  at 
this  point  a  thin  seam  above  the  main  coal  was  passed  through, 
representing,  probably,  No.  7  of  the  general  section.  The  following 
section  was  made  at  the  Edwardsville  shaft : 

Loess  and  drift  clay  and  gravel about  60  feet 

Broken  shale 2    ' 

Limestone 5    ' 

Coal..  2    " 


MADISON   COUNTY.  255 

Hard,  blue  argillaceous  limestone,  alternating  with  bands  of  calcareous  shale 16  feet 

Coal  (Belleville) 6    " 

No  attempt  has  been  made,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  to  determine 
whether  or  not  any  lower  seams  are  developed  at  this  point,  but  it 
is  quite  probable  that  one  or  two  lower  seams  may  be  found  here 
whenever  the  main  seam  becomes  exhausted.  The  coal  obtained 
from  the  Belleville  seam  at  Edwardsville  is  of  good  quality,  and 
presents  the  general  appearance  of  the  coals  from  this  seam  in 
St.  Clair  county.  It  appears  to  be  more  uniform  in  thickness,  how- 
ever, here  than  at  Casey ville,  and  much  less  subject  to  the  inter- 
ruptions known  as  "clay-slips"  and  "horse-backs." 

The  Madison  Coal  Company's  mines  are  located  on  Wood  river, 
about  eight  miles  northeast  of  Alton,  where  the  following  beds  out- 
crop at  the  surface : 

Coal 2  feet 

Fire-clay 3 

Calcareous  shale,  w.ith  fossil  shells 10 

Bluish-gray  limestone 6 

Bituminous  shale 1 

Coal  (Belleville) 5  to  6 

Fire-clay 2  to  3 

Nodular  limestone,  partially  exposed 2 

The  lower  seam  is  the  only  one  wrought  at  this  locality,  and  is 
without  doubt  identical  with  the  lower  seam  in  the  shaft  at  Edwards- 
ville, and  with  that  worked  at  Collinsville,  Belleville  and  Caseyville, 
in  St.  Clair  county.  The  fluality  of  the  coal  does  not  differ  mate- 
rially from  that  at  Edwardsville,  but  these  mines  are  worked  far  more 
extensively  than  any  others  in  this  county. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Alton  a  lower  seam  is  found,  that  varies  in 
thickness  from  two  to  three  feet,  and  is  separated  from  the  lower 
Carboniferous  limestone  by  only  a  few  feet  of  fire  clay  or  clay  shale. 
This  may  be  the  equivalent  of  No.  3  of  the  general  section.  At 
Mitchell's  coal  bank,  two  miles  north  of  Alton,  this  seam  is  over- 
laid by  one  foot  of  bituminous  shale,  and  about  forty  feet  of  clay  shale. 
At  more  northern  localities  this  clay  shale  is  replaced  by  sandy 
shales  and  sandstone.  The  coal  seam  No.  5,  if  present  in  this 
vicinity,  would  be  found  immediately  above  this  clay  shale,  which 
may  attain  a  thickness,  altogether,  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet.  An  analy- 
sis of  this  coal  from  four  different  mines  in  the  vicinity  of  Alton, 
gave  the  following  average  results : 

Specific  gravity 1 .2964 

Loss  in  coking 44.04 

Total  weight  of  coke 55.96 

100.00 


256  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OP   ILLINOIS. 

ANALYSIS: 

Moisture 8.70 

Volatile  matters 35.39 

Carbon  in  coke „ 50.88 

Ashes 5.07 

— 100.04 
Carbon  in  coal 54.19 

An  analysis  of  four  specimens  from  the  Belleville  seam  in  this 
county,  two  of  which  were  from  the  Wood  river  mines,  represent- 
ing the  top  coal  and  the  middle  coal  of  this  seam,  one  from  the 
Edwardsville  coal,  and  the  other  from  Cook's  mine,  gave  the  following 
average  results: 

Specific  gravity 1.3210 

Loss  in  coking • 50.82 

Total  weight  of  coke 49.18 

— 100.00 

ANALYSIS : 

Moisture 9.75 

Volatile  matters 41.07 

Carbon  in  coke 42.12 

Ashes 7.07 

100.01 

Carbon  in  coal 48.67 

These  analyses  were  made  by  Mr.  HENRY  PRATTEN,  formerly  an 
assistant  geologist  and  chemist  for  the  Survey,  and  were,  no  doubt, 
carefully  made,  and  they  show  that  the  Wood  river  seam  contains 
the  largest  amount  of  volatile  matters,  and  would  in  consequence 
be  the  best  for  the  manufacture  of  gas,  while  the  lowest,  or  Alton 
seam,  contains  the  most  fixed  carbon,  and  loses  about  12  per  cent, 
less  in  coking.  These  two  seams  furnish  nearly  all  the  coal  that  is 
mined  in  this  county  at  the  present  time. 

The  seam  that  outcrops  in  the  vicinity  of  Highland  is  too  thin 
to  be  profitably  worked  in  competition  with  the  lower  and  thicker 
seams,  and  has  consequently  only  been  opened  to  supply  the  local 
demand  in  the  neighborhood  of  its  outcrop.  It  varies  in  thickness 
from  twenty  inches  to  two  feet,  and  is  associated  with  shales  and 
limestone  in  the  following  order: 

Calcareous  shale,  with  fossil  shells .' 3  feet. 

Hard  bluish -gray  limestone 4    ' 

Bituminous  shale 3    ' 

Gray  shale,  with  band  of  septaria 10    ' 

Coal 2    " 

The  gray  shale  above  the  coal  contains  a  few  fossil  ferns,  and 
the  limestone  and  calcareous  shale  above  it  contains  fossil  shells? 
corals  and  crinoidea.  The  best  exposure  of  these  beds  is  about  one 
mile  north  of  Highland.  At  another  locality,  about  a  mile  and  a 


MADISON   COUNTY.  257 

half  southwest  of  this,  there  is  an  exposure  of  about  thirty  feet  of 
sandy  shale  underlying  the  limestone  in  the  foregoing  section,  with 
no  trace  of  the  coal  seam.  This  is  only  another  evidence  of  the 
sudden  change  to  which  the  strata  of  the  Coal  Measures  are  liable, 
even  in  local  outcrops  over  very  limited  areas,  and  indicate  the 
reason  why  coal  is  not  always  found  in  boring  through  strata  that 
are  known  to  include  the  horizon  of  one  or  more  coal  seams.  A 
very  slight  change  in  the  surface  conditions  of  any  given  locality, 
during  the  deposit  of  a  coal  seam,  would  result  in  replacing  the 
coal  with  some  other  material,  forming  either  a  sandstone,  lime- 
stone or  shale  in  its  place;  and  even  after  the  coal  had  been 
formed,  it  may  have  been  swept  away  by  the  action  of  sub-marine 
currents,  and  its  place  supplied  with  sedimentary  material. 

The  lower  Carboniferous  limestones  of  this  county  include  a  thin 
outlier  of  the  Chester  group,  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  and  the  upper 
or  geodiferous  shales  of  the  Keokuk  group,  and  comprise  a  thick- 
ness, altogether,  of  about  three  hundred  feet. 

The  Chester  group  is  represented  by  the  lower  sandstone,  about 
twelve  feet  in  thickness,  overlaid  by  a  thin  band  of  limestone  two 
feet  thick.  The  limestone  is  coarsely  granular  in  structure  and  of 
a  brownish-gray  color,  and  is  quite  unlike  any  of  the  upper  beds  of 
the  St.  Louis  group. 

The  sandstone  is  a  massive  brown  rock,  presenting  the  usual  ap- 
pearance of  this  bed  in  more  southerly  localities,  where  it  is  fully 
developed.  These  beds  form  the  upper  layers  of  the  limestone 
escarpment  in  the  bluffs  just  above  the  city  of  Alton.  This  group, 
which  is  over  six  hundred  feet  thick  in  Randolph  county,  has  thinned 
out,  in  a  distance  of  about  eighty  miles,  to  an  aggregate  of  only 
about  fourteen  feet ;  and  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Jersey,  we 
recognize  a  thin  outlier  of  this  group  only  about  three  feet  in  thick- 
ness, which  is  the  most  northerly  point  at  which  it  has  been  recog- 
nized. 

The  St.  Louis  limestone  is  well  exposed  between  the  mouth  of 
the  Piasa  and  the  city  of  Alton,  forming  a  continuous  bluff,  aver- 
aging a  hundred  feet  or  more  in  height.  The  following  section  will 
illustrate  the  lithological  character  of  this  division  of  the  lower  Car- 
boniferous system,  as  it  appears  in  this  county: 

Green  shaly  clay,  with  nodules  of  limestone 4  feet 

Massive  arenaceous  limestone,  partially  stratified 18    " 

Massive  light-gray  limestone,  with  dendrites 10    " 

Thin-bedded  light-gray  limestone 15    " 

Gray  limestone,  in  irregular  beds 10    " 

—17 


258  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Irregularly-bedded  dark-gray  limestone,  partly  magnesian,  with  nodules  of  sili- 
ceous limestone  and  chert 8  feet 

Thin-bedded  gray  limestone 10    " 

Brecciated  and  concretionary  limestone 30  to  50    " 

Regularly-bedded  gray  limestones,  the  upper  part  rather  massive  and  passing 
downward  into  thinner-bedded  magnesian  limestones,  of  a  brownish-gray 

color 50  to  60     " 

Brown  earthy  magnesian  limestones,  with  some  hydraulic  layers  and  bands  of 
semi-oolitic  litnestonb,  containing  Pentremites  and  small  shells,  such  as  are  char- 
acteristic of  the  same  horizon  at  Bloomington  and  Spergen  Hill,  Indiana,  and 
Warsaw,  Illinois 40  to  60  " 

The  upper  beds  in  the  foregoing  section  thin  out  rapidly  above 
Alton,  and  at  the  old  lime-kiln,  about  four  miles  above  the  city, 
the  whole  series  is  probably  not  more  than  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  in  thickness.  North  of  the  Piasa  we  have  not  been  able 
to  recognize  any  of  the  beds  that,  in  the  vicinity  of  Alton,  overlie 
the  brecciated  limestone. 

As  has  been  elsewhere  observed,  this  is  the  most  variable  in  its 
lithological  characters  of  all  the  divisions  of  the  lower  Carboniferous 
series,  except  the  Kinderhook  group.  Hence  before  it  had  been 
examined  over  wide  extended  areas,  we  were  disposed  to  separate  it 
into  two  divisions,  which  seemed  to  be  clearly  distinct  and  well 
denned,  both  by  their  lithological  characters  and  by  the  specific  char- 
acters of  the  fossils  belonging  to  each.  But  it  was  found,  on  exam- 
ination at  many  and  widely  separated  points,  that  the  lithological 
characters  on  which  this  division  had  been  made  were  not  constant, 
and  moreover  that  many  species  of  fo.ssils  which  were  supposed  to 
be  restricted  to  the  separate  divisions  of  this  group,  were  found  to 
extend  through  the  whole.  For  example,  the  Pentremites  conoideus, 
which  occurs  in  the  lower  part  of  this  group,  three  miles  above 
Alton,  and  is  also  a  characteristic  fossil  of  these  beds  at  Warsaw, 
Illinois,  and  Spergen  Hill,  Indiana,  also  occurs  in  Monroe  county, 
in  the  upper  division  of  this  limestone,  associated  with  Lithostrotion 
proliferum  and  other  characteristic  fossils  of  the  upper  limestones. 
This  pentremite  is  quite  common  in  the  semi-oolitic  beds  three  miles 
above  Alton,  and  is  associated  with  Rhynchonella  mutata,  JR.  macra, 
Retzia  Verneuilianus,  Productus  biserialis,  P.  j±ltonensis,  etc.  The 
purer  limestones  above  the  brecciated  bed  contain  Atliyris  amb'njua, 
Orthis  dubia,  Terebratula  hastata,  Productus  ovattis,  P.  marginicinctus, 
P.tenuicostus,  Lithostrotioit  niiiiiiiUiiria,  L,  proliferum,  and  several  un- 
determined species  of  Belleropkon,  AUorisma,  Conularia,  etc. 

No  specimens  of  Archimedes  have  yet  been  found  in  the  upper 
division  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone  in  this  State,  though,  according 
to  Dr.  B.  F.  SHUMARD,  they  h,ave  been  found  in  Missouri  in  this  hori- 
zon. Out  of  the  one  hundred  and  thirteen  species  of  fossil  fishes, 


MADISON     COUNTY.  259 

from  the  Carboniferous  rocks  of  Illinois,  that  are  figured  and  de- 
scribed in  the  second  volume  of  the  original  Eeport,  nineteen  were 
obtained  from  this  division  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series ;  and 
it  is  quite  probable  that  further  investigations  will  add  several  more 
to  the  number  already  known  to  this  horizon. 

Keokuk  Group. — At  the  base  of  the  bluffs,  on  the  Piasa,  there  is 
an  outcrop  of  twenty-five  feet  of  caleareo- argillaceous  shales,  which 
properly  belong  to  the  upper  divisions  of  this  group,  and  represent 
the  geodiferous  shales  of  Hancock  and  the  adjoining  counties.  The 
shales  at  this  point  contain  a  few  imperfect  geodes,  but  afford  no 
fine  specimens,  such  as  are  found  further  north  in  this  bed.  It  will 
probably  be  found  at  the  base  of  the  bluff,  on  the  Piasa,  nearly  or 
quite  to  the  bridge  on  the  road  from  Alton  to  Jersey  Landing.  It 
affords  no  material  of  economical  value. 

Economical  Geology. 

Coal.— The  coal  beds  of  this  county  constitute  by  far  the  most 
valuable  of  its  mineral  productions,  and  as  population  increases  and 
manufactures  are  extended,  as  they  must  necessarily  do  in  so  rich 
an  agricultural  region,  these  deposits  of  mineral  fuel,  which  have 
been  stored  away  in  the  bosom  of  mother  earth  for  untold  ages, 
will  become  a  source  of  wealth  undreamed  of  at  the  present  time. 
As  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  pages,  there  are  two  seams  of 
coal  now  opened  in  the  western  portion  of  the  county,  and  two 
thinner  ones  are  known,  which  have  not  yet  been  worked  to  any 
considerable  extent.  The  two  lower  seams  are  amply  sufficient,  in- 
asmuch as  they  underlie  nearly  all  the  uplands  in  the  county,  for 
the  supply  of  the  entire  demand  for  mineral  fuel,  in  this  county, 
for  centuries  to  come.  These  two  seams  have  an  aggregate  thick- 
ness of  about  nine  feet,  and  will  yield  fully  nine  million  tons  of 
coal  to  every  square  mile  of  surface  which  they  underlie. 

But  although  the  horizon  of  these  coals  extends  over  nearly  the 
whole  surface  of  the  county,  there  may  be  localities  where  the  coal 
is  replaced  by  other  material,  and  this  seems  to  be  the  case  at 
Highland,  according  to  the  journal  of  the  boring  made  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  shaft  at  that  point.  The  shaft  was  sunk  to  a  point 
about  eighty  feet  above  the  Belleville  coal,  and  a  boring  was  then 
carried  down  forty-six  feet  below  the  limestone  that  usually  forms 
the  roof  to  that  coal,  without  finding  any  trace  of  the  coal  seam ; 
and  if  the  journal  kept  by  those  prosecuting  the  work  here  is  reli- 
able (and  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  is  so),  then  the 


260  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Belleville  coal  at  this  point  is  replaced  by  shale.  It  is  greatly  to 
be  regretted  that  the  boring  had  not  been  continued  to  the  base  of 
the  Coal  Measures,  which  would  probably  have  been  reached  in  fifty 
feet  or  less  from  the  point  where  the  work  was  suspended.  This 
would  have  settled  the  question  whether  the  two  lower  seams  had 
also  been  replaced  with  other  material  at  this  point.  At  Summer- 
field,  about  twelve  miles  southwest  of  Highland,  a  four-foot  seam 
of  coal  has  been  reached  at  a  depth  of  about  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  feet  below  the  surface,  but  from  the  section  given  of  the 
shaft  at  this  point,  it  would  appear  that  this  is  Coal  No.  5,  and 
that  the  Belleville  seam  is  replaced  by  shale  at  this  point  also.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  borings  will  be  made  at  other  points  in  the 
central  and  eastern  portions  of  the  county,  to  determine  whether 
the  thinning  out  of  the  Belleville  coal  is  confined  to  a  limited  area, 
or  prevails  over  a  considerable  extent  of  surface. 

Clays. — Good  clays,  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  potters'  wares 
and  fire  brick,  are  frequently  found  underlying  the  lower  coal  seam 
in  this  county.  It  varies  in  thickness  at  different  localities,  ranging 
from  two  to  ten  feet.  It  is  usually  of  a  light  buff,  sometimes  nearly 
white  color,  and  is  extensively  used  for  economical  purposes  in 
various  portions  of  the  State.  At  Upper  Alton  a  pottery  has  been  in 
operation  for  several  years,  and  is  supplied  with  clay  from  a  bed 
in  the  vicinity  which  comes  from  about  the  horizon  of  the  lower 
coal.  Other  localities  may  no  doubt  be  found,  in  the  northwestern 
portion  of  the  county,  where  valuable  deposits  of  clay  exist,  and 
they  will  generally  be  found  near  the  junction  of  the  Coal  Measures 
with  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestones.  Clay,  suitable  for  manu- 
facturing bricks,  may  be  obtained  from  the  sub-soil  clays  almost 
anywhere  on  the  uplands. 

Hydraulic  Limestone. — At  the  base  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  on 
the  Piasa,  there  is  a  bed  of  hydraulic  limestone  about  eight  feet 
thick.  It  Outcrops  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek  in  the  edge  of 
Jersey  county ;  and  a  mill  has  been  erected  there  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  hydraulic  cement.  The  rock  is  a  bluish-gray  earthy  magne- 
sian  limestone,  and  resembles  that  found  at  Miller's  cement  mills, 
near  the  south  line  of  St:  Clair  county,  and  probably  holds  about 
the  same  stratigraphical  position.  This  limestone  may  be  found  in 
the  bluff  on  the  south  side  of  the  Piasa,  from  its  outcrop  at  the  mill 
to  the  mouth  of  the  creek.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  lower  part 
of  the  St.  Louis  limestone  is  dolomitic  in  composition,  and  may  afford 
other  beds  that  will  eventually  be  useful  for  this  purpose. 


MADISON    COUNTY.  261 

Limestone  for  Lime. — There  is  perhaps  no  other  point  in  the  State 
where  equal  facilities  may  be  found  for  the  manufacture  of  a  superior 
article  of  .quick-lime,  in  almost  unlimited  quantities.  The  upper  part 
of  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  in  the  vicinity  of  Alton,  is  a  nearly  pure 
carbonate  of  lime,  which,  when  burned,  affords  the  best  quality  of 
quick-lime  hitherto  manufactured  in  this  State.  The  quarries  are 
immediately  on  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  product  of  the 
lime  kilns  can  be  shipped  to  any  point  on  the  river  without  any 
expense  of  land  carriage.  Coal  is  abundant  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, and  affords  the  necessary  fuel  at  a  moderate  cost. 

The  manufacture  of  quick-lime  commenced  here  at  an  early  day, 
and  for  some  years  Alton  supplied  nearly  all  the  river  towns  from 
St.  Paul  to  New  Orleans  with  this  article.  But  more  recently  the 
manufacture  of  lime  has  been  commenced  at  many  points  on  the 
river,  and  an  inferior  article,  manufactured  nearer  home,  has  been 
substituted  for  the  Alton  lime.  The  following  history  of  the  lime 
business  at  this  point  is  taken  from  the  Alton  Courier,  of  November 
28,  1857: 

"One  of  the  most  important  branches  of  manufacture  in  Alton  is 
that  of  lime.  Like  all  other  enterprises  beginning  on  a  small  founda- 
tion, it  has  developed  and  grown,  year  after  year,  until  it  now  ranks 
second  to  that  of  no  other  in  the  Union.  This  is  caused  almost 
solely  by  its  superior  qualities,  which  cause  it  to  be  sought  after  with 
avidity  wherever  it  has  been  once  tried,  or  wherever  its  almost 
universal  reputation  has  extended.  In  view  of  these  facts  it  may 
not  be  uninteresting  to  look  at  some  statistics  of  the  trade  in  its 
early  days,  and  as  it  now  exists. 

"The  first  lime  made  in  the  city,  of  which  we  have  any  record, 
was  manufactured  in  Hunterstown  in  the  year  1815,  by  Col.  Jacob 
Judy.  The  manner  of  its  manufacture  was  in  keeping  with  the  primi- 
tive style  of  those  early  times.  It  was  simply  this  :  Large  log  heaps 
were  madej  and  the  rock  being,  placed  upon  them,  they  were  fired, 
and  as  the  logs  burned  to  ashes  the  rock  was  transformed  into  lime. 
Lime  continued  to  be  made  in  this  way,  as  occasion  and  necessity 
demanded,  until  1818,  when  it  was  manufactured  in  kilns.  The  first 
kiln  was  erected  in  Hunterstown  by  Maj.  C.  W.  Hunter,  who  leased 
it  to  the  Hon.  George  Smith  and  Thomas  G.  Hawley,  now  of  Upper 
Alton.  These  gentlemen  manufactured  lime  to  a  considerable  extent, 
which  they  were  under  bonds  to  sell  at  not  more  than  25  cents  per 
bushel.  This  bond,  we  understand,  is  yet  in  existence,  and  can  prob- 
ably be  seen  by  the  curious. 


262  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

"The  manufacture  of  lime  continued  to  be  carried  on  with  more 
or  less  activity  until  1847.  In  this  year  the  barreling  and  exporta- 
tion of  lime  was  commenced,  and  from  that  day  to  this  the  business 
has  prospered  and  grown,  and  is  yet  increasing,  day  by  day.  Its 
present  extent  can,  perhaps,  be  judged  of  by  a  few  facts  and  statis- 
tics. 

"Since  the  first  of  March  last,  there  has  been  manufactured  121,900 
barrels,  of  which  48,400  barrels  have  been  shipped  by  railroad  in 
bulk.  The  balance,  73,500  barrels,  have  been  shipped  and  sold  in 
barrels,  thus  affording  a  large  demand  for  cooperage  work.  There 
are  twenty  kilns  now  in  operation,  of  which  five  are  patents.  These 
kilns  give  employment  in  various  ways  to  not  less  than  four  hundred 
men,  aside  from  the  cooperage  required  by  them.  Thus  we  see  that 
this  business,  though  making  but  little  show,  and  perhaps  but  little 
thought  of,  is  yet  one  of  vast  importance  and  benefit.  With  the 
kilns  now  in  use,  there  are  ample  facilities  for  the  manufacture  of 
about  210,000  barrels  of  lime  per  annum,  amounting  in  value  to  over 
$200,OUO.  This  is  the  yearly  product  of  the  rocky  and  forbidding 
bluffs  that  adorn  the  river  bank  in  our  immediate  neighborhood. 
What  other  portion  of  the  land,  so  unprepossessing  in  appearance, 
abounding  in  no  hidden  deposits  of  mineral  wealth,  and  of  like 
extent,  can  yield  more,  or  even  as  much?" 

From  that  time  down  to  the  present  there  appears  to  have  been 
a  gradual  falling  off  in  the  lime  business  at  this  point,  not  in  con- 
sequence of  any  failure  in  the  supply  of  the  necessary  material,  but 
rather  from  the  competition  in  the  manufacture  of  the  article  at 
points  nearer  than  this  to  the  principal  markets  heretofore  supplied 
from  this  locality.  The  supply  of  material  for  the  manufacture  of 
lime  is  absolutely  inexhaustible  in  this  vicinity,  and  Alton  must 
always  remain  a  noted  locality  for  this  branch  of  manufacture. 

Building  Stone. — This  useful  material,  like  that  for  lime,  occurs  in 
great  abundance,  but  its  outcrop  is  confined  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
river  bluffs  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  county.  The  entire  thick- 
ness of  the  limestone  outcropping  in  the  bluffs  between  the  mouth 
of  the  Piasa  and  Alton  is  something  over  three  hundred  feet,  and 
nearly  the  whole  of  it  may  be  made  available  as  a  building  stone. 
From  the  Piasa  down  to  the  creek  which  enters  the  Mississippi  just 
below  the  old  town  of  Clifton,  the  limestones  which  here  form  the 
base  of  the  St.  Louis  series  are  more  or  less  magnesian,  and  some 
of  the  beds  approach  a  true  dolomite  in  composition.  Where  this 
rock  is  in  heavy  beds  it  makes  an  excellent  material  for  culverts, 
abutments,  and  heavy  walls,  where  strength  and  durability  are  the 


MADISON   COUNTY.  263 

chief  requisites.  The  material  for  the  abutments  of  the  railroad 
bridge  over  the  Illinois  river,  at  Meredosia,  was  obtained  from  the 
light  gray  limestone  near  the  top  of  the  'bluff,  just  above  Alton,  and 
proves  to  be  a  durable  stone,  not  easily  affected  by  atmospheric 
influences.  Some  of  the  beds  in  the  upper  part  of  the  group  here 
are  susceptible  of  a  fine  polish,  and  may  be  used  as  an  ornamental 
stone.  The  thinner  beds  -make  good  flag-stones,  and  have  been 
extensively  used,  both  at  Alton  and  Springfield,  for  that  purpose. 
The  flag-stones  around  the  Capitol  Square,  in  Springfield,  were 
obtained  from  the  upper  beds  of  limestone  at  Alton. 

In  the  central  and  eastern  portions  of  the  county,  the  supply  of 
building  stone  is  quite  limited.  The  limestone  in  the  vicinity  of 
Highland,  and  on  Shoal  creek,  affords  a  durable  stone  for  rough 
walls,  but  as  the  bed  is  usually  not  more  than  four  or  five  feet  in 
thickness,  the  supply  is  limited.  There  are  perhaps  some  other  beds 
of  Coal  Measure  limestone  outcropping  in  the  county  that  will  prove 
of  local  value  for  building  purposes.  The  sandstones  of  the  Coal 
Measures  in  this  county,  so  far  as  they  have  fallen  under  my  obser- 
vation, appear  to  be  too  soft  and  incoherent  in  their  structure  to  be 
relied  on  as  a  desirable  building  material. 

There  are  but  few  counties  in  the  State  more  favored  with  all  the 
essential  elements  of  wealth  and  material  prosperity  than  the  county 
of  Madison.  Possessing  a  soil  of  unsurpassed  fertility,  covering  the 
whole  area  of  the  county,  with  an  abundant  supply  of  excellent 
timber,  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  coal,  building  stone,  limestone  for 
lime,  hydraulic  lime  and  potter's  clay,  with  a  favorable  position  on 
the  Mississippi,  which  opens  up  to  its  products  the  markets  of  the 
world,  and  with  ample  railroad  facilities  connecting  it  with  St.  Louis 
and  Cnicago,  as  well  as  the  cities  of  the  East,  it  only  remains  for 
the  citizens  to  improve  the  natural  advantages  so  lavishly  bestowed, 
to  obtain  for  this  county  the  reputation  it  will  justly  deserve,  as  one 
of  the  most  wealthy  and  populous  in  the  State.  To  this  end,  manu- 
factories should  be  encouraged  and  built  up  to  consume  the  surplus 
of  raw  material  which  the  soil  is  capable  of  producing,  and  to  make 
available  the  natural  resources,  in  the  way  of  mineral  fuel,1  which 
have  been  so  bountifully  stowed  away  beneath  the  surface. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 


HANCOCK  COUNTY. 

This  county  is  situated  on  the  western  border  of  the  State,  opposite 
the  dividing  line  between  the  States  of  Iowa  and  Missouri,  and 
embraces  a  superficial  area  of  about  twenty-one  townships,  or  seven 
hundred  and  fifty-six  square  miles.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Henderson  county,  on  the  east  by  Schuyler  and  McDonough  coun- 
ties, on  the  south  by  Adams  county,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi river.  The  face  of  the  country  is  generally  level  or  gently 
undulating,  except  on  the  borders  of  the  streams,  where  it  becomes 
broken  and  hilly.  The  principal  streams  in  the  county  are  Crooked 
creek  and  Bear  creek,  which  traverse  the  eastern  and  southern  por- 
tions of  the  county. 

A  large  portion  of  the  surface  of  this  county  is  prairie  land,  the 
proportion  of  prairie  and  timber  being  about  three  of  the  former  to 
one  of  the  latter.  But  notwithstanding  the  great  preponderance  of 
the  prairie  over  the  timber  land,  and  the  fact  that  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  prairie  is  now  occupied  and  improved,  the  amount  of 
timber  still  remaining  is  probably  nearly,  or  quite,  as  great  as  at  any 
period  before  its  settlement  by  the  white  race,  showing  that  the 
annual  growth  has  proved  fully  adequate  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
population  for  fuel,  fencing  and  building  purposes.  By  the  settle- 
ment of  the  county,  the  fires  which  annually  swept  over  its  surface 
while  in  a  state  of  nature,  were  prevented  from  spreading  over  the 
whole  area  as  before,  and  the  young  growth  of  timber  which  had 
previously  been  destroyed  by  these  annual  fires  was  preserved,  and 
in  this  way  the  supply  has  been  fully  maintained. 

Tl.e  soil  upon  the  prairie  land  is  usually  a  deep  black  loam,  with 
a  brown  clay  sub-soil.  On  the  ridges  that  skirt  the  streams  the  soil 
is  usually  a  chocolate-brown  loamy  clay,  becoming  locally  light- 
brown  or  yellow,  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  from  the  predomi- 


HANCOCK   COUNTY.  265 

nant  character  of  the  sub-soil.  The  timber  on  these  ridges  consists 
for  the  most  part  of  black  and  white  oak  and  hickory,  with  an 
undergrowth  of  red-bud,  sassafras  and  hazel.  On  the  more  level  por- 
tions of  the  timbered  uplands  we  find,  in  addition  to  these,  elm, 
linden,  wild  cherry  and  honey  locust.  The  soil,  on  the  lands  where 
the  last  named  varieties  of  timber  are  found,  is  fully  equal,  in  its 
productive  capacity,  to  that  of  the  prairies,  while  that  on  the  oak 
ridges  is  comparatively  thin.  In  the  southwest  portion  of  the  county 
there  is  a  wide  belt  of  alluvial  bottom  skirting  the  Mississippi  river, 
commencing  at  the  city  of  Warsaw  and  extending  to  the  south  line 
of  the  county,  with  an  average  width  of  about  three  miles.  A  part 
of  this  bottom  is  prairie,  and  a  part  is  covered  with  a  heavy  growth 
of  timber,  consisting  of  cottonwood,  sycamore,  red  and  slippery  elm, 
black  and  white  walnut,  ash,  hackberry,  honey  locust,  pecan,  per- 
simmon, paw-paw,  coffee-nut,  white  maple,  red  birch,  linden  and 
mulberry,  and  the  common  varieties  of  oak,  and  shell-bark  and  pig- 
nut hickory.  The  greater  portion  of  this  bottom  is  susceptible  of 
cultivation,  and  possesses  a  sandy  soil  that  is  not  surpassed,  in  its 
productive  capacities,  by  any  other  portion  of  the  county.  It  is 
subject  to  overflow,  however,  during  seasons  of  extraordinary  high 
water,  and  those  who  cultivate  these  lands  must  calculate  on  a  par- 
tial, if  not  a  total  loss  of  their  crops  once  in  about  seven  years. 

Springs  are  not  abundant  in  this  county,  but  are  occasionally 
found  at  the  base  of  the  river  bluffs  and  in  the  valleys  of  the  small 
streams.  Some  of  these  are  chalybeate,  and  contain,  in  addition  to 
the  iron,  both  sulphur  and  magnesia.  Good  wells  are  usually  obtained 
on  the  uplands  at  depths  varying  from  twenty  to  forty  feet.  The 
surface  deposits  of  this  county  comprise  the  usual  sub-divisions  of 
the  Quaternary  system,  and  attain  an  aggregate  thickness  of  about 
se*venty-five  feet.  All  the  uplands  are  covered  by  accumulations  of 
drift,  varying  in  thickness  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet  or  more.  This 
usually  consists  of  a  bed  of  blue  clay  or  hard  pan  at  the  bottom, 
of  variable  thickness,  which  is  overlaid  by  brown  clays,  with  gravel 
and  boulders  of  water-worn  rock  of  various  sizes.  Sometimes  there 
are  thin  beds  of  sand  in  the  brown  clays,  that  present  a  stratified 
appearance,  and  serve  as  channels  to  the  underground  streams  of 
water.  A  large  portion  of  the  material  composing  the  drift  deposits 
has  been  transported  from  a  distance,  and  many  of  the  boulders  are 
derived  from  the  metamorphic  strata  of  Lake  Superior,  several  hun- 
dred miles  from  the  spot  where  they  are  now  found.  Many  of  these 
boulders  are  of  great  size  and  many  tons  weight,  and  must  have 
required  a  mighty  force  to  transplant  them  to  their  present  position. 


266  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

One  of  these  may  be  seen  at  the  foot  of  the  bluffs  between  Nauvoo 
and  Appanoose,  composed  of  the  metamorphic  rock  of  the  northwest, 
which  is  nearly  twenty  feet  in  diameter.  The  power  required  to 
wrench  such  a  mass  of  rock  from  its  native  bed  and  transport  it, 
for  hundreds  of  miles,  with  a  force  sufficient  to  obliterate  all  its 
angles,  is  inconceivably  great;  but  here  is  the  boulder  of  granite, 
nearly  five  hundred  miles,  as  the  crow  flies,  from  the  nearest  known 
outcrop  of  this  kind  of  rock,  giving  unmistakable  evidence  .that  such 
a  result  has  been  accomplished.  Several  specimens  of  native  cop- 
per have  been  found  in  the  drift  deposits  of  this  county,  which,  from 
their  appearance,  leave  no  doubt  that  they  have  been  transported 
from  the  copper  region  of  Lake  Superior. 

Specimens  of  bituminous  coal  are  also  frequently  met  with  in  the 
drift  clays  of  this  county,  and  have  come  from  some  of  the  coal 
seams  in  the  adjacent  region.  To  those  who  are  unacquainted  with 
the  manner  in  which  the  drift  clays  and  the  inclosed  boulders  and 
gravel  beds  have  been  accumulated,  these  specimens  of  coal  and 
copper,  or  any  of*  the  metallic  ores  that  are  to  be  found  in  them, 
may  be  regarded  as  indications  of  the  near  proximity  of  valuable 
beds  of  these  minerals,  whereas  they  were  perhaps  transported  for 
hundreds  of  miles  and  then  only  in  isolated  specimens,  and  furnish 
no  evidence  whatever  of  the  existence  of  any  deposit  of  mineral 
wealth  in  the  vicinity  where  they  occur. 

Along  the  river  bluffs  the  accumulations  of  drift  appear  to  have 
been  subjected  to  a  partial  sifting  process,  which  has  given  the  whole 
a  stratified  character,  which  may  be  termed  modified  drift.  In  the 
section  of  the  river  bluff  exposed  in  grading  Main  street,  in  the 
city  of  Warsaw,  a  very  interesting  section  of  modified  drift  may  be 
seen,  showing  the  following  order  of  super-position : 

Ash  colored  marly  clay,  resembling  loess 10  feet,  (Tin 


Brown  drift  clay 10 

Brown  sands,  partly  stratified 8 

Blus  sandy  clay 2 

Fine  gravel  and  clay 2 

Yellow  sand 2 

Gravel  and  boulders...  ..8 


Blue  clay 5 

The  upper  clay  bed  in  the  above  section  resembles  the  loess  in 
its  color  and  general  appearance,  but  contains  no  fossils  at  this 
locality.  In  the  vicinity  of  Hamilton  there  is  an  exposure  of  loess, 
fifteen  feet  thick,  in  the  railroad  cut ;  and  at  this  point  it  contains 
a  few  fossil  shells.  It  appears  to  be  generally  more  argillaceous 
here  than  at  points  farther  south,  and  it  probably  nowhere  exceeds, 
in  this  county,  a  thickness  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  Where  it 


HANCOCK   COUNTY.  267 

forms  the  sub-soil  its  porous  character  allows  the  water  to  pass 
freely  through  it,  affording  a  more  thorough  drainage  to  the  surface 
than  that  afforded  by  the  clay  subsoils  of  the  drift.  Along  the 
river  bluffs  in  this  county  the  drift,  either  in  its  normal  or  modified 
condition,  appears  everywhere  below  the  loess,  while  the  deposits  of 
the  latter  are  comparatively  thin,  and  restricted  to  the  vicinity  of 
the  river  bluffs.  The  drift  clays  that  underlie  the  central  and  east- 
ern portion  of  the  county  contain  fragments  of  wood,  and  often  the 
entire  trunks  of  trees  of  considerable  size  are  met  with,  in  sinking 
wells  in  this  formation.  These  woods  are  coniferous,  and  appear  to 
belong  to  a  species  of  cedar.  At  several  points  in  this  county,  one 
of  which  is  on  the  State  road,  five  miles  nearly  east  of  Warsaw, 
there  is,  at  the  base  of  the  drift  deposits,  a  bed  of  ferruginous  con- 
glomerate, exactly  resembling  the  conglomerate  of  Southern  Illinois, 
which  we  regard  as  of  Tertiary  age.  Whether  this  bed  in  Hancock 
county,  which  appears  to  be  only  about  two  feet  in  thickness,  is 
really  referable  to 'the  same  age,  is  a  point  we  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  determine;  but  the  fact,  alluded  to  in  a  previous  chapter, 
of  the  occurrence  of  shark's  teeth  in  the  alluvial  sands  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  in  this  county,  renders  it  highly  probable  that  beds 
of  this  age  wer^  really  deposited  as  -far  north  as  this ;  and  if  so, 
this  band  of  conglomerate  is  most  probably  referable  to  the  same 
age.  As  it  contains  no  fossils,  its  age  can  only  be  inferred  from  its 
stratigraphical  position,  which  is  below  the  blue  clay  or  "hard  pan" 
that  is  usually  regarded  as  the  base  of  the  drift  formation.  These 
superficial  deposits,  belonging  to  the  Quaternary,  or  most  recent  of 
the  geological  systems,  are  spread  entirely  over  the  surface  of  the 
county,  except  in  the  valleys  of  the  streams,  where  they  have  been 
carried  away,  by  surface  agencies.  Hence  the  underlying^  stratified 
rocks  are  only  to  be  seen  in  the  bluffs  and  valleys  of  the  streams, 
where  the  clays  and  gravel  beds  have  been  removed  by  the  agency 
of  water  currents. 

The  stratified  rocks  that  are  exposed  above  the  surface,  in  this 
county,  comprise  a  limited  thickness  of  the  lower  Coal  Measures, 
and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  lower  Carboniferous  limestone 
belonging  to  the  St.  Louis  and  Keokuk  groups.  A  vertical  section 
of  these  rocks  would  exhibit  the  following  order  and  thickness  of 
strata :  « 

COAL  MEASUEES: 

Sandstone,  passing  downward  into  clay  shale 30  feet. 

Coal 2    " 

Bituminous  and  argillaceous  shales 9    " 

Coal 1     "    6  in. 

Conglomerate  sandstone 20    " 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

ST.  Louis  LIMESTONE: 

Brecciated  and  concretionary  limestone 10  to  25  feet. 

Calcareous  grit  stones 10    " 

Blue  clay  shales  and  Archimedes  limestone 20    " 

Magnesian  limestone 8  to  12    " 

KEOKUK  LIMESTONE: 

Geodiferous  shales  and  shaly  limestone 30  to  40  feet. 

Light,  bluish-gray  limestones '. 20  to  30    " 

Cherty  thin-bedded  gray  limestones 40  to  50    " 

From  the  above  section  it  will  be  seen  that  the  aggregate  thick- 
ness of  the  Coal  Measures  in  this  county  is  only  about  sixty-five  feet, 
and  they  include  the  horizon  of  two  coal  seams,  both  of  which  are 
comparatively  thin.  The  best  outcrop  of  coal  in  the  county  is  on 
Williams  creek,  near  Augusta,  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  county. 
The  upper  se'am,  which  we  regard  as  perhaps  identical  with  the  Col- 
chester seam,  is  here  about  two  feet  thick,  sometimes  as  much  as 
twenty-eight  or  thirty  inches,  and  affords  a  fair  quality  of  coal. 
The  roof  is  usually  clay  shale,  and  when  worked  by  drifting  it  requires 
a  good  deal  of  expense  in  cribbing,  to  keep  the  roof  from  falling  in. 
Just  above  the  bridge  on  the  Pulaski  road,  the  following  strata  were 
exposed  at  the  time  we  first  visited  this  locality  in  1853 : 

Shaly  sandstone 14  feet 

Sandy  and  argillaceous  shales 16    " 

Coal 2    " 

Bed  shale 1    " 

Unexposed  slope 7    " 

Fire  clay 3    " 

The  sandstone  and  shale  above  the  coal  seam  was  somewhat  fer- 
ruginous, and  contained  nodules  of  argillaceous  iron  ore.  At  another 
exposure  of  these  beds,  not  more  than  fifty  yards  from  Hawley's 
coal  bank,  the  coal  was  replaced  by  a  thin  band  of  bituminous  shale, 
and  the  following  section  was  exposed: 

Ferruginous  shale  and  shaly  sandstone 32  feet. 

Bituminous  shale 0    "    4  in. 

Gray  shale ! 9    " 

Bituminous  shale 1    " 

Fire  clay 3    " 

These  two  sections  were  ma'de  less  than  fifty  yards  apart,  and 
represent  exactly  parallel  strata,  and  will  serve  to  illustrate  the 
sudden  changes  that  sometimes  occur  in  coal  seams,  or  indeed  in 
any  other  stratified  rock,  even  in  'very  limited  areas.  The  coal 
which,  in  the  first  section,  is  two  feet  thick,  is  represented  in  the 
last  by  four  inches  of  bituminous  shale.  The  lower  seam  of  bitu- 
minous shale  represents  the  horizon  of  the  other  coal  seam,  and 
at  this  locality  it  contains  a  few  fossils,  among  which  were  Discina 
nitida  and  a  few  scales  and  spines  of  fishes.  A  coal  seam — probably 


HANCOCK  COUNTY.  269 

the  same  as  the  upper  one  in  the  foregoing  sections — outcrops  about 
one  mile  southeast  of  Plymouth,  which  had  not  been  worked  to  any 
extent  at  the  time  of  my  visit  to  the  locality. 

In  the  central  and  western  portions  of  the  county  coal  has  been 
found  at  several  localities,  but  it  appears  to  exist  only  in   detached 
outliers,  and  probably  occupies   shallow   depressions  in  the  concre- 
tionary limestone.     On  the  small  creek  north  of  Carthage  there  are 
two    or   three    outcrops    of    coal,  one    of   which  is  on  the  lands  of 
A.  Simpson,  Esq.,  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  11,  township  5 
north,  range  6  west,  and  another  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 9,  township  5  north,  range  6  west.     The  coal  at  these  outcrops 
is  only  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  thick,  and  is  of  little  econom- 
ical value  at  the  present  time.     On  the  head  waters  o'f  Waggoner's 
creek,  which  enters  the  Mississippi  one  mile  above  the  old  town  of 
Montebello,  there  is   an  outlier  of  coal,  that  was   worked   to   some 
extent  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  county.     The  coal  at  this  point 
is  from  twelve  to   fourteen  inches  thick,  and   strongly  impregnated 
with  iron  pyrites.     On  Mr.  Miller's  place,  a  little  farther  north,  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  32,  township  6  north,  range  8  west, 
there  is.  another  exposure  of  about  the   same  thickness.      The   coal 
is  here  underlaid  by  about  thirty  feet    of   conglomerate   sandstone. 
At   Nauvoo   this1  thin  outlier  of   coal  was   found  about  a  hundred 
yards  south  of  the  "Temple,"  and  was  worked,  while   the   city  was 
occupied  by  the  Mormons,  by  stripping  off  the  overlying  drift  clays 
and  loess  which  rested   directly  upon  the   coal.      It   is   only   about 
eighteen   inches   in    thickness,    and    having   no    roof,    could   not  be 
profitably  worked  at  the  present  time.    It  is  probable  that  this  out- 
lier of   Coal   Measures   originally  extended  continuously  from  Wag- 
goner's creek  to  Nauvoo,  and  it  is  also   found  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  just  below  the  old  town  of   Nashville,  where  it  is  rep- 
resented by  a  bed  of  massive  conglomerate  sandstone,  that  caps  the 
bluffs    at   that   point.      There  are   also  outcrops   of  sandstone   and 
bituminous  shale  extending  up  the  river  bluffs  nearly  to   the    north 
line  of  the  county,  but  up   to   the  present  time  they  have  afforded 
no  valuable  deposit  of  coal.      On  section  13,  in  the  eastern  part  of 
township  4  north,  range  8  west,  on  the  waters  of  the  north  fork  of 
Bear  creek,  coal  was  found  and  worked   in   the   early  settlement  of 
the  county,  but  was  soon  abandoned. 

From  the  fact  that  all  the  streams  of  any  considerable  size  in 
the  county  cut  down  to  the  limestones  that  underlie  the  Coal  Meas- 
ures, it  is  not  probable  that  any  very  extensive  and  valuable  deposits 
of  coal  will  ever  be  found  in  this  county.  Local  deposits,  however, 


270  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY    OF   ILLINOIS. 

may  exist  beneath  the  heavy  drift  deposits  that  are  spread  over  the 
broad  prairies,  and  may  be  found  by  boring  through  these  overlying 
deposits.  It  is  probable  that  a  boring  one  hundred  feet  deep  would 
reach  the  limestones  below  the  coal  at  every  point  in  the  county, 
and  thus  settle  definitely  the  question  as  to  the  amount  of  coal  that 
existed  at  the  point  where  the  boring  was  made.  By  referring  to 
the  general  section  of  the  strata  in  this  county,  it  will  be  seen  that 
all  the  limestones  underlie  the  Coal  Measures,  and  consequently  the 
search  for  coal  either  in  or  below  these  limestones  would  be  in  vain. 
All  the  coal  in  this  county  lies  between  the  limestones  and  the 
drift,  and  if  the  drift  is  found  resting  directly  on  the  limestone,  no 
coal  will  be  found. 

The  concretionary  or  brecciated  limestone,  which  is  the  upper  bed 
of  lower  Carboniferous  limestone  in  this  county,  underlies  the  Coal 
Measures  throughout  this  county,  and  it  therefore  forms  a  reliable 
and  easily  recognized  horizon  to  guide  those  who  are  in  search  of 
coal. 

Fossils  are  quite  rare  in  the  Coal  Measures  of  this  county,  but 
the  bituminous  shale  overlying  the  lower  seam  on  Waggoner's  creek, 
and  near  Augusta,  has  afforded  a  few  marine  shells,  as  well  as 
some  fish  remains,  and  the  Conglomerate  sandstone  has  afforded  a 
few  specimens  of  plants,  such  as  Sigillaria,  Stigmaria,  Lepidoden- 
dron,  etc. 

St.   Louis  Limestone. 

Concretionary  and  Brecciated  Limestone. — This  division  of  the 
St.  Louis  group  is  a  bluish-gray,  sometimes  nearly  white,  limestone, 
concretionary  in  structure,  and  sometimes  brecciated,  and  rarely 
presents  any  regular  lines  of  bedding.  It  contains  locally,  irregular 
seams  and  crevices  filled  with  green  marly  clay,  and  also  seams  and 
nodules  of  chert.  At  some  localities  the  chert  forms  a  stratum  a 
foot  or  two  in  thickness  at  the  top  of^the  limestone.  This  limestone 
outcrops  in  the  river  bluffs  throughout  the  county,  and  on  all  the 
principal  streams  in  the  interior.  On  a  branch  of  Bear  creek,  in  the 
vicinity  of  St.  Albans,  it  forms  the  entire  bluff,  and  also  outcrops 
at  several  other  points  in  this  part  of  the  county.  On  Crooked 
creek  it  was  met  with  as  far  north  as  the  crossing  of  the  Pontoosuc 
road  west  of  LaHarpe,  and  it  may  be  found  along  this  creek  as  far 
south  as  it  runs  in  this  county.  It  is  also  found  on  the  forks  of 
Brunce's  creek,  northwest  of  Plymouth.  Its  thickness  in  this  county 
is  variable,  ranging  from  ten  to  thirty  feet. 


HANCOCK  COUNTY.  271 

Calcareous  Grit-stone. — The  concretionary  limestone  is  usually 
underlaid  by  about  ten  feet  of  grit-stones  in  regular  beds,  that  are 
locally  calcareous,  and  vary  in  thickness  from  two  inches  to  a  foot 
or  more.  It  is  extensively  quarried  in  the  vicinity  of  Warsaw,  where 
it  is  exposed  on  all  the  small  streams,  as  well  as  in  the  river  bluffs. 
It  is  an  excellent  material  for  foundation  walls,  and  is  very  generally 
used  in  the  vicinity  of  its  outcrop. 

Blue  Shales  and  Archimedes  Limestones. —  Below  the  grit  stones 
above  described,  there  are  a  series  of  blue  clay  shales,  with  interca- 
lated beds  of  coarse  granular  gray  limestone, .that  attain  a  thick- 
ness of  twenty  feet  or  more  in  this  county.  They  are  well  exposed 
at  the  city  of  Warsaw,  and  also  in  the  river  bluffs,  both  above  and 
below.  On  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  24,  township  4  north, 
range  6  west,  the  beds  are  well  exposed  on  Brunce's  creek,  and  are 
twenty  feet  in  thickness.  This  division  of  the  group  is  somewhat 
variable  in  its  lithological  characters,  and  is  sometimes  composed 
entirely  of  blue  or  gray  clay  shales,  without  any  intercalations  of 
limestone,  and  at  other  localities  it  becomes  a  shaly  magnesian 
limestone. 

Magnesian  Limestone. — The  lowest  member  of  the  group  is  a  brown 
or  gray  magnesian  limestone,  generally  evenly-bedded,  is  easily 
dressed,  and  is  an  excellent  material  for  caps  and  sills,  and  is  gen- 
erally used  in  the  vicinity  of  Warsaw  as  a  building  stone.  Its  thick- 
ness in  this  county  ranges  from  eight  to  twelve  feet.  It  is  extensively 
quarried  at  several  points  in  the  river  bluffs,  from  two  to  three 
miles  below  Warsaw,  where  it  attains  its  maximum  thickness,  and 
is  quite  regularly-bedded,  and  these  quarries  afford  nearly  all  the 
dressed  stone  used  in  the  city.  For  evenness  of  texture  and  dura- 
bility, this  limestone  is  not  surpassed  by  any  other  in  the  county, 
but  it  contains  minute  crystals  of  iron  pyrites,  which  oxydize  on 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  giving  origin  to  patches  of  rusty  brown 
on  the  exposed  surface  of  the  rock.  Zinc  blend  in  crystals,  associ- 
ated with  crystals  of  dolomite  and  calcite,  is  occasionally  found  in 
pockets  in  this  limestone.  It  will  be  found  in  all  the  highest  points 
of  the  river  bluffs  from  Warsaw  to  Nauvoo,  and  is  also  exposed  on 
Brunce's  creek  and  Crooked  creek  in  the  east  part  of  the  county. 

Fossils  abound  to  some  extent  in  all  the  sub-divisions  of  the 
group,  but  are  most  abundant  in  the  shales  and  Archimedes  lime- 
stones. The  Archimedes  Wortheni  is,  perhaps,  the  most  abundant 
and  conspicuous  fossil  in  this  bed,  but  there  are  several  other  very 
beautiful  forms  of  Bryo~oa  associated  with  it,  among  which  are 
Coscinium  plumosum,  C.  eleaans,  C.  sagenella,  C.  Michelinia,  and 


272  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Polypora  Varsouviensis.  Fossil  shells  are  not  so  abundant,  but  the 
following  species  are  to  be  found  at  Warsaw:  Spirifer  lineatus, 
Orthis  dubia,  Productus  Altonensis,  Rhynchonella  subcuneata,  Conularia 
Verneuilii,  and  Lithophaga  pertenuis.  The  exposures  of  this  bed  at 
Warsaw  have  also  afforded  several  very  beautiful  specimens  of  cri- 
noidea,  the  most  of  which  are  unique.  They  comprise  the  following 
species :  Cyathocrinus  Thomce,  Platycrinus  Georgii,  P.  Pumilis,  Acti- 
nocrinus  caroli,  Rhodocrinus  Varsouviensis,  Scaphiocrinus  divaricatus, 
Dichocrinus  dichotomus,  and  Pentremites  conoideus.  Zaphentris  spinuli- 
fera,  and  two  or  three  undetermined  corallines,  are  also  quite  com- 
mon at  this  locality.  The  calcareous  grit-stone  and  Magnesian 
limestone,  that  lie  above  and  below  these  shales,  contain  the  same 
species  of  fossils  in  a  less  perfect  state  of  preservation. 

The  concretionary  and  brecciated  limestone  which  forms  the  upper 
division  of  the  group  is  characterized  by  -two  species  of  fossil  corals, 
the  Lithostrotion  mamillaris  and  L.  proliferum,  and  an  undetermined 
species  of  Aulopora.  The  specimens  of  Lithostrotion  are  almost 
invariably  siliceous,  and  are  found  weathered  out  of  the  limestone 
in  the  debris  of  the  streams  that  cut  through  it,  in  masses  from  a 
few  ounces  to  forty  pounds  or  more  in  weight.  They  are  usually  of 
a  reddish-brown  color  on  the  surface,  and  a  delicate  pink  or  flesh 
color  within,  and  at  once  attract  the  eye  even  of  those  who  know 
nothing  of  their  true  character  as  fossils.  The  L.  mamillaris  is  gener- 
ally known  as  a  petrified  Jioney-comb  or  hoi-net's  nest. 

Keokuk,  Group. 

Geodiferous  Shales. — The  upper  division  of  this  group  consists  of 
blue  and  brown  calcareo-argillaceous  shales  and  shaly  limestone, 
and  in  this  county  is  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  in  thickness.  A  good 
section  of  these  shales,  exhibiting  the  full  thickness  of  the  bed,  may 
be  seen  just  above  the  steamboat  landing  at  Warsaw,  and  above 
the  railroad  grade.  It  is  about  forty  feet  in  thickness  at  this  point, 
and  at  the  bottom  is  an  irregularly-bedded  argillaceous  limestone, 
passing  upward  into  a  blue  clay  shale.  Banning  through  the  bed, 
near  the  middle,  there  is  a  band  of  brown,  cherty  magnesian  lime- 
stone, about  two  feet  in  thickness.  Siliceous  geodes,  the  crust  of 
which  is  composed  of  chalcedony  and  crystalline  quartz,  are  dis- 
seminated through  the  entire  bed,  but  at  this  locality  they  are  most 
abundant  near  the  base.  These  geodes  are  lined  with  beautiful 
crystals  of  limpid  quartz,  calcite,  dolomite,  zinc  blende,  iron  pyrites 
and  arragonite,  or  with  botryoidal  forms  of  blue  and  milk-white 


•        HANCOCK   COUNTY.  273 

chalcedony.  In  the  north  part  of  the  county  a  few  have  been  found 
that  were  filled  with  petroleum  and  asphaltum.  For  a  detailed 
description  of  these  geodes  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  report  of 
Prof.  BRUSH,*  of  Yale  College,  in  a  previous  chapter,  to  whom  a 
collection  of  them  was  submitted  for  examination.  This  bed  out- 
crops in  the  river  bluffs,  from  the  northern  to  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  county,  and  is  also  exposed  on  several  of  the  creeks  in  the 
interior.  Waggoner's  creek,  above  Montebello,  and  all  the  smaller 
streams  along  the  rapids,  intersect  this  bed,  and  on  several  of  them 
fine  geodes  may  be  obtained.  Waggoner's  creek  has  afforded  the 
largest  specimens  yet  found  in  the  county,  some  of  which  are  from 
fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  in  diameter.  At  some  localities  the  bed 
affords  no  good  specimens,  the  geodes  all  being  imperfectly  formed, 
and  at  others  many  of  the  geodes  are  solid  globes  of  quartz,  with 
no  cavity  in  the  centre.  Some  of  them  are  partly  filled  with  water, 
which  is  sometimes  quite  bitter  to  the  taste,  from  the  mineral  sub- 
stances held  in  solution.  The  crystallized  minerals  contained  in 
these  geodes  are  by  far  the  most  attractive  specimens  in  mineralogy 
to  be  found  in  the  State. 

Keokuk  Quarry  Rock. — The  limestones  of  this  group  that  are  quar- 
ried for  building  stone,  are  restricted  mostly  to  the  middle  division, 
and  comprise  a  thickness  of  from  twenty-five  to  forty  feet  in  this 
county.  They  are  mostly  of  a  bluish-gray  color,  in  tolerably  regular 
beds,  that  vary  from  four  inches  to  three  feet  in  thickness.  Some 
of  the  thickest  beds  are  of  a  light-gray  color,  and  are  as  completely 
crinoidal  in  structure  as  any  portion  of  the  Burlington  limestone. 
The  Mormon  temple  at  Nauvoo  was  built  of  this  limestone ;  and  at 
Loomis'  quarries,  just  below  the  city,  where  a  part  of  the  material 
for  the  temple  was  obtained,  the  beds  show  the  following  detailed 
section : 

Thin- bedded,  gray  limestones 6  feet   0  inches 

Argillaceous  shale 2  "  0 

Oray  limestone,  in  two  layers 3  "  10 

Clay  shale 1  "  10 

Light  gray  limestone  (single  layer) 3  "  6 

D  ark  gray  limestone 1  "  10 

Cherty  limestof  e 3  "  0 

Light  gray  limestone 2  "  0 

This  quarry  furnished  a  considerable  portion  of  the  material  used 
in  building  the  United  States  Custom  Houses  at  Galena  and  Dubuque, 
and  the  equivalent  strata  are  generally  used  as  a  building  stone 
wherever  they  are  found.  It  cuts  freely,  and,  when  free  from  chert, 

*  See  page  71. 

—18 


274  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

may  be  sawed  with  facility.  All  the  ornamental  stone  work  for  the 
Mormon  temple,  even  the  stone  oxen  on  whose  backs  the  baptismal 
font  rested,  were  carved  from  this  limestone.  These  quarries  will 
afford  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  superior  building  stone  for  the 
whole  region  adjacent  to  the  outcrop.  The  lightest  colored  layers  are 
a  nearly  pure  carbonate  of  lime,  and  are  also  valuable  for  the 
manufacture  of  quick-lime.  Its  outcrop  is  confined  mainly  to  the 
river  bluffs,  and  to  Crooked  creek,  and  Brunce's  creek,  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  county. 

Fossils. —  To  the  palaeontologist  this  limestone  presents  a  most 
interesting  and  varied  field  for  study.  It  seems  to  have  been 
deposited  in  a  quiet  ocean,  where  the  delicate  bryozoa  and  the 
beautiful  and  graceful  crinoid  flourish  in  great  profusion,  and  their 
calcareous  skeletons  are  found  attached  to  the  solid  surfaces  of  the 
limestone,  or  enclosed  in  the  shaly  partings  that  separate  the  harder 
layers,  in  a  most  perfect  state  of  preservation.  The  solid  limestone 
itself  is  a  complete  aggregation  of  the  remains  of  organic  beings, 
including  the  Mollusk  and  the  Coral,  the  Crinoid  and  the  Trilobite, 
associated  with  the  teeth  "and  spines  of  fishes.  A  residence  of  a 
quarter  of  a  century  in  the  vicinity  of  some  of  the  most  productive 
localities  of  fossil  organisms  ever  yet  found  in  this  formation,  has 
afforded  us  an  opportunity  to  study  somewhat  minutely  its  palseon- 
tological  features,  and  we  feel  fully  warranted  in  the  assertion  that, 
excepting  the  Burlington  limestone,  no  sub-division  of  the  whole 
palaeozoic  series  presents,  in  the  same  thickness  of  strata,  so  rich 
and  varied  a  series  of  marine  fossils. 

Fishes  appear  to  have  abounded,  both  in  individuals  and  species, 
during  the  deposit  of  this  limestone,  more  than  at  any  other  period 
of  the  lower  Carboniferous  era.  Their  remains  are  not  generally 
distributed  through  the  limestones  like  those  of  the  Mollusk  and  the 
Coral,  but  are  restricted  to  certain  beds,  where  they  are  far  more 
abundant  than  anywhere  else.  The  fishes  of  the  lower  Carboniferous 
period  appear  to  have  been  entirely  cartilaginous,  possessing  no  bony 
skeleton ;  yet  their  teeth  and  the  thorny  spines  with  which  they 
were  armed  are  found,  in  some  layers  of  the  limestone,  in  great 
numbers.  There  are  two  beds  of  limestone  in  the  Keokuk  group  in 
which  these  remains  are  far  more  abundant  than  elsewhere,  one  of 
which  is  at  the  top  of  the  limestones  and  near  their  junction  with 
the  geodiferous  shales,  and  the  other  is  about  twenty-five 'feet  below 
this,  and  near  the  base  of  the  quarry  rock.  The  upper  one  was 
first  observed  in  the  vicinity  of  Warsaw,  where  only  the  upper  beds 
of  limestone  appear  above  the  surface ;  and  the  other  one  was  found 


HANCOCK  COUNTY.  275 

in  the  bed  of  the  creek  that  intersects  the  bluffs  just  below  Hamil- 
ton. Neither  of  these  beds  are  above  six  inches  in  thickness,  and 
from  the  lower  one,  at  the  locality  above  named,  we  obtained  at 
different  times  more  than  a  thousand  specimens  of  teeth  and  spines 
on  a  surface  not  exceeding  ten  feet  square.  Forty-eight  species 
from  this  horizon  will  be  found  figured  and  described  in  the  second 
volume  of  the  original  Keport,  nearly  all  of  which  were  obtained 
from  these  two  localities. 

Of  the  Mollusca  and  Eadiata  most  common  in  this  limestone,  the 
following  species  have  been  found  in  this  connty:  Spirifer  striatus. 
S.  Keokuk,  S.  rostellatus,  S.  tenuimarginata,  S.  neglectus,  S.  lineatus, 
S.  cuspidatus,  Productus  semireticidatus,  P.  punctatus,  P.  Wortheni, 
Hernipronites  crenistria,  Agaricocrinus  Americanus,  A.  Wortheni,  Ac- 
tinocrinus  pernodosus,  A.  Nashville,  A.  Lowei,  A.  Gouldi,  A.  Missis- 
sippiensis,  A.  ramulosus,  A.  Humboldtii,  A.  spinulosus,  A.  lobatus,  A. 
steropes,  A.  unicarinatus,  A.  jugosus,  A.  mundulus,  A.  layunculus, 
Forbesiocrinns  Wortheni,  F.  Meeki,  F.  Norwoodi,  Platycrinus  Sajfordi, 
Cyathocrimis  stellatus,  C.  buttatus,  C.  tumidus,  C.  spurius,  C.  protu- 
berans,  C.  intermedius,  C.'magister,  C.  angulatus,  Poteriocrinus  deca- 
dactylus,  Synbathocrinus  Swallori,  Pentremites  Wortheni,  Granatocrinus 
granulosus,  and  Archceocidaris  Keokuk.  Among  the  Corals,  Sponges 
and  Bryozoa,  the  most  common  are  Zaphrentis  dalii,  Sphenopoterium 
obtusum,  Archimedes  Owenana,  Coscinium  Keyserlingi.  and  Cyclopora 
discoidea.  These  fossils  will  serve  to  distinguish  this  limestone 
readily  from  any  other  division  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series, 
because 'they  are  for  the  most  part  restricted  to  this  formation,  and 
especially  the  crinoidea,  not  a  single  species  of  which  have  yet  been 
found  in  any  other  division  of  the  series.  The  list  of  fossils  given 
above  is  by  no  means  a  complete  one  of  this  group,  even  in  this 
county,  but  comprises  only  some  of  the  most  common  and  well 
known  species. 

Cherty  Limestone. — At  the  base  of  the  Keokuk  group  we  find  a 
bed  of  chert  alternating  with  thin  beds  of  light  gray  limestone,  and 
attaining  a  thickness  of  from  forty  to  sixty  feet.  The  only  outcrop 
of  these  beds  in  this  county  is  along  the  base  of  the  bluffs  from  a 
point  about  two  miles  above  Warsaw  to  the  north  line  of  the  county. 
It  not  only  forms  the  lower  portion  of  the  river  bluffs  between  the 
points  above  named,  but  extends  entirely  across  the  bed  of  the 
river,  forming  the  serious  obstruction  to  navigation  known  as  the 
Loiver  Rapids.  For  economical  purposes  this  rock  is  of  little  value, 
the  limestones  being  generally  too  thin  to  be  of  much  valtie  as  a 
building  stone.  The  cherty  portion,  which  constitutes  the  greatest 


276  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OP   ILLINOIS. 

part  of  the  bed,  would  make  an  excellent  material  to  macadamize 
roads,  and  for  this  purpose  it  would  prove  of  far  more  value  than 
the  limestone. 

The  following  section  of  the  upper  portion  of  these  beds,  as  they 
appear  above  the  river  level,  just  below  Nauvoo,  will  afford  a  very 
correct  idea  of  their  general  character: 


Chert ..  3ieet. 


Shaly  limestone 2 

Siliceous  limestone 2 

Limestone 1 

Chert 0 

Limestone 1 

Chert 6 

Limestone 0 

Chert 2 

Limestone 1 

Chert 1 

Limestone 0 

Chert , 1 

Limestone 0 

Chert...  ..  0 


6  inches. 
6 
0 
10 
0 
0 
6 
5 
6 
6 
9 
2 


10 
26     "    2 

The  limestones  in  this  section  are  all  light  gray  in  color,  irreg- 
ular bedded,  and  contain  more  or  less  chert  in  nodules  and 
lenticular  masses.  This  chert  approaches  a  true  flint  in  hardness, 
and  was  used  by  the  aborigines  for  arrow  heads  and  other  imple- 
ments. In  its  fossils,  this  division  presents  no  marked  difference 
from  the  limestone  above  it,  except  that  they  are  much  more  rare, 
and  generally  not  so  well  preserved  as  in  the  higher  and  more  cal- 
careous beds.  This  is  the  lowest  rock  exposed  above  the  surface  in 
this  county,  and  its  outcrop  is  confined  to  the  vicinity  of  the  river 
bluffs  between  Warsaw  and  the  north  line  of  the  county,  and  here  the 
lower  portion  of  it  is  below  the  river  level,  so  that  there  is  but  a 
partial  exposure  of  the  bed  even  here.  Its  entire  thickness  is  prob- 
ably not  less  than  sixty  feet,  though  in  this  county  not  more  than 
forty  feet  is  exposed  at  any  locality  that  we  have  examined.  The 
only  fine  examples  of  Spirifer  striatus  that  have  been  met  with  in 
this  county,  with  both  valves  of  the  shell  together,  were  found  in  a 
band  of  limestone  intercalated  in  these  cherty  beds  about  two  miles 
below  Nauvoo. 

Economical  Geology. 

Building  Stone. — Hancock  county  is  well  supplied  with  good  build- 
ing stone,  and  there  is  perhaps  no  natural  resource  of  this  portion 
of  the  State  that  is  so  lightly  appreciated  at  the  present  time  in 


HANCOCK   COUNTY.  277 

proportion  to  its  intrinsic  value  as  this.  In  the  early  settlement  of 
a  country,  the  people  are  compelled  to  content  themselves  with 
primitive  and  cheaply  constructed  dwellings,  but  as  wealth  increases, 
and  a  taste  for  more  elegant  structures  is  generally  disseminated, 
these  cheap  primitive  dwellings  will  give  place  to  those  of  a  more 
substantial  character,  and  many  of  the  quarries,  now  regarded  as  of 
little  value,  will  become  a,  source  of  wealth  to  their  owners. 

The  middle  division  of  the  Keokuk  group  will  afford  the  greatest 
amount  as  well  as  the  finest  quality  of  building  stone,  and  where 
this  is  easily  accessible,  no  better  material  need  be  looked  for.  It 
is  generally  even  textured,  dresses  well,  and  is  well  adapted  for  all  the 
ordinary  uses  to  which  a  building  stone  is  applied.  It  is  also  tolerably 
even  bedded,  and  affords  strata  thick  enough  for  all  the  ordinary 
requirements  of  architecture.  Some  of  the  beds  are  susceptible  of  a 
fine  polish,  and  may  be  used  as  an  ornamental  stone.  It  outcrops  on  all 
the  small  streams  in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  as  well  as  in  the 
river  bluffs  throughout  the  county,  except  in  the  vicinity  of  Warsaw, 
and  for  a  distance  of  five  miles  below,  where,  by  an  undulation  of  the  dip, 
it  is  carried  below  the  surface,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  feet  of  the 
upper  layers.  It  appears  again,  however,  on  Eocky  run,  six  miles 
below  Warsaw,  forming  bluffs  on  that  creek  twenty  feet  or  more  in 
height.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  it  outcrops  on  Brunce's 
creek,  north  of  Plymouth,  and  Crooked  creek,  in  the  vicinity  of  St. 
Marys. 

The  arenaceous  and  magnesian  beds  of  the  St.  Louis  group  will  also 
furnish  a  building  stone  but  little  inferior  in  quality,  and  quite  equal  in 
durability,  to  that  afforded  by  the  Keokuk  limestone.  The  Magnesian 
limestone  of  this  group,  especially,  affords  a  most  excellent  building 
stone,  and  it  has  been  very  generally  used  at  Warsaw  and  vicinity 
for  many  years,  not  only  for  foundation  walls,  but  for  the  construc- 
tion of  entire  buildings  of  the  largest  size.  At  the  quarries  a  mile 
and  a  half  or  two  miles  below  the  city  of  Warsaw,  this  bed,  although 
only  about  ten  feet  in  thickness,  has  afforded  the  largest  portion 
of  the  cut  stone  used  in  the  city  and  vicinity  for  the  last  twenty 
years.  It  is  even  textured,  cuts  easily  when  freshly  quarried,  and 
hardens  on  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  It  is  thick  bedded  at  this 
locality,  and  is  readily  quarried  into  blocks  of  suitable  size  for 
ordinary  use.  North  of  Warsaw  its  outcrop  is  generally  high  up 
in  the  bluffs,  or  on  the  small  streams  that  intersect  them,  and  in 
the  interior  of  the  county  it  will  be  found  on  all  the  principal  creeks 
that  intersect  the  limestones  immediately  below  the  Coal  Measures. 


278  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Hydraulic  Limestone. — At  the  top  of  the  geodiferous  shales  in  the 
vicinity  of  Warsaw  there  is  a  bed  of  bluish-gray  earthy  limestone 
that  presents  the  external  characters  of  a  hydraulic  rock,  and  it  oc- 
cupies the  same  stratigraphical  position  as  the  hydraulic  beds  in 
Jersey  and  St.  Clair  counties.  Its  thickness  is  from  three  to 
four  feet.  An  analysis*  of  this  rock  by  Messrs.  BLANBY  and  MARINER, 
of  Chicago,  showed  a  deficiency  of  lime  and  magnesia  necessary  to 
constitute  a  good  hydraulic  limestone,  with  a  superabundance  of 
clay;  but  an  analysis  of  a  single  specimen  is  hardly  sufficient  to 
determine  its  true  value  for  this  purpose.  It  is  highly  probable  that 
some  of  the  earthy  magnesiaii  limestones  of  this  county  will  be 
found  adapted  to  this  purpose  when  an  increased  demand  for  such 
material  shall  require  careful  practical  experiments  to  fully  test  the 
value  of  those  rocks  that  seem  most  likely  to  answer  such  demand. 

Limestone  for  Lim.e, — The  best  rock  in  this  county  for  the  manu- 
facture of  quick-lime  is  the  concretionary  and  brecciated  limestone, 
which  immediately  underlies  the  Coal  Measures,  and  outcrops  on 
every  stream  of  any  size  in  the  county.  Its  thickness  ranges  from 
ten  to  twenty-five  feet,  and  it  will  afford  an  inexhaustible  supply  of 
material  for  this  purpose.  At  Hamilton,  Nauvoo  and  Niota,  lime  is 
manufactured  from  the  Keokuk  limestone,  and  the  purest  layers, 
when  carefully  selected,  make  a  good  lime. 

Potter's  Clay. — The  under-clays  of  the  coal  seams  are  almost 
the  only  clays  in  the  State  used  for  the  manufacture  of  potters' 
ware,  and  are  the  only  ones  from  which  a  good  article  of  fire  brick 
has  been  made.  The  under-clay  below  the  lower  coal  seam  on  Wil- 
liam's creek,  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  county,  is  about  three  feet 
thick,  and  appears  to  be  of  good  quality,  suitable  either  for  potter's 
ware  or  fire  brick.  There  are  probably  many  localities  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  county,  where  this  clay  may  be  found  equal  in  qual- 
ity and  quantity  to  that  at  the  locality  above  named.  Beds  of  soft 
material  like  this  are  seldom  well  exposed  by  natural  causes,  and 
are  best  seen  by  artificial  cuts  through  the  strata  with  which  they 
are  associated.  The  coal  seams  will  always  serve  as  a  guide  to  those 
in  search  of  these  clays. 

*  The  following  is  Dr.  BLANEY'S  analysis  of  this  rock: 

Carbonate  of  lime 36.28 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 17.95 

Silica,  alumina  and  iron  '. 1.57 

Potash  an d  water 9 . 65 

Clay 34.55 

100.00 


HANCOCK    COUNTY.  279 

Iron  Ore. — Nodules  of  carbonate  of  iron  are  disseminated  through 
ihe  shale  over  the  lower  coal  seam,  and  are  found  in  considerable 
abundance  along  the  beds  of  the  small  creeks  that  intersect  the 
shale,  but  no  deposit  was  seen  that  promised  anything  like  a  profit- 
able bed  of  ore  for  the  manufacture  of  metallic  iron. 

Coal. — The  supply  of  bituminous  coal  in  this  county  is  quite  lim- 
ited, and  the  inhabitants,  especially  in  the  western  and  northern 
portions  of  the  county,  will  have  to  rely  mainly  upon  more  highly 
favored  localities,  for  a  supply  of  this  useful  mineral.  The  seam  on 
Williams  creek  will  furnish  an  ample  supply  for  the  southeastern 
portion  of  the  county,  but  the  area  over  which  it  will  be  found 
to  extend  with-  sufficient  thickness  to  be  profitably  worked  is  prob- 
ably quite  limited.  A  coal  seam  from  twenty-four  to  thirty  inches 
thick  may  be  profitably  worked  by  the  ordinary  process  of  drifting 
horizontally  into  the  seam,  and  a  thinner  one  is  often  successfully 
worked  in  open  trenches,  where  there  is  only  a  few  feet  of  superfi- 
cial material  above  the  coal.  This  seam  of  coal,  where  it  is  worked 
in  the  vicinity  of  Augusta,  will  probably  average  about  two  feet  in 
thickness,  and  affords  a  coal  of  fair  quality,  and  according  to  the 
usual  mining  estimates  will  afford  about  three  thousand  tons  of  coal 
to  each  acre  of  land,  provided  all  the  coal  is  taken  out,  and  if  it 
should  be  found  to  extend  uninterruptedly  of  this  thickness  over  any 
considerable  part  of  that  township,  it  would  afford  an  ample  supply 
of  coal  for  this  portion  of  the  county. 

At  the  other  localities  where  coal  has  been  found  in  this  county, 
it  appears  to  occur  in  detached  outliers  of  very  limited  extent,  which 
afford  only  a  thin  seam,  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  thick,  and 
ihe  coal  itself  is  generally  of  an  inferior  quality.  Such  deposits  are 
rarely  of  any  considerable  economical  value. 

Soil  and  Agricultural  Products. — The  prairie  soil  which  covers  fully 
two-thirds  of  the  entire  surface  of  this  country,  does  not  present  any 
very  marked  Difference  from  its  general  character  and  appearance 
in  Central  and  Western  Illinois.  It  is  everywhere  productive  where 
the  surface  is*  properly  drained  and  thoroughly  cultivated.  Its  deep 
chocolate-brown  or  black  color  shows  that  it  contains  a  large  per 
cent,  of  humus,  the  result  of  the  growth  and  decay  of  vegetable 
and  animal  matter  upon  the  surface  for  untold  centuries,  which 
were  a  necessary  addition  to  the  finely  pulverized  mineral  matter 
that  constituted  the  original  surface,  when  it  was  first  drained  from 
the  waters  in  which  the  drift  accumulated,  in  order  to  render  it  fit 
for  the  production  of  the  cer*eals  and  fruits  necessary  for  the  support 
of  man.  The  subsoil  is  a  brown  clay  that  does  not  absorb  water 


280  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

freely  from  the  surface,  and  hence,  where  the  surface  is  level  the 
soil  is  too  wet  to  be  cultivated  successfully  without  artificial  draining. 

In  th&  vicinity  of  the  streams  the  surface  is  more  rolling,  the  soil 
is  lighter  colored  from  the  washing  away  in  part  of  the  vegetable 
humus  that  would  be  retained  on  a  level  surface,  and  the  lands 
require  no  artificial  draining.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  river 
bluffs  the  soil  is  more  sandy  from  an  admixture  of  the  sandy  marls 
of  the  loess,  which  forms  a  dry  calcareous  soil  that  has  proved  to 
be  admirably  adapted  to  the  growth  of  fruit.  The  most  productive 
apple  orchards  in  the  county  are  those  planted  along  the  bluffs  of 
the  Mississippi  river,  and  these  lands,  which  have  hitherty  been 
considered  the  poorest  in  the  county,  are  now  considered  the  most 
valuable,  and  for  the  use  of  the  fruit  grower  will  command  as  much 
per  acre  as  the  best  prairie  lands.- 

The  cultivation  of  the  Catawba  grape  for  wine  was  undertaken  a 
few  years  since  by  the  German  settlers  at  Nauvoo,  and  the  marked 
success  which  attended  the  effort  at  that  locality  stimulated  others 
to  follow  their  example,  and  this  branch  of  horticulture  has  spread 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  place  this  county  in  advance  of  any  other 
in  the  State,  in  the  production  of  pure  native  wines.  The  following 
statistics  of  vine-growing  and  fruit  culture  generally  in  this  county 
Nwas  prepared  by  N.  W.  BLISS,  Esq.,  of  Warsaw,  who  is  himself  per- 
sonally interested  in  fruit-growing,  and  was  kindly  furnished  for 
insertion  in  this  report : 

"GOLDEN  BLUFF  VINEYARDS," 

NEAR  WARSAW,  HANCOCK  COUNTY,  ILL., 

JANUARY  15,  1866. 
Prof.  A.  H.  Worthen,  State  Geologist  of  Illinois: 

DEAR  SIR:  In  response  to  a  request  that  I  should  prepare,  for 
your  forthcoming  Report  upon  the  Geology  of  Illinois,  tables  of 
statistics  showing  the  present  extent  of  grape  culture  upon  the 
bluffs  of  the  Mississippi  river,  in  this  county,  together  with  such 
remarks  as  I  might  choose  to  offer  upon  the  adaptation  of  the  soils 
and  climate  of  this  portion  of  the  State  to  the  culture  of  the  grape, 
and  other  fruits,  I  beg  to  submit  the  following  statistics  and  hastily 

prepared  remarks. 

And  I  remain,. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

N.  W.  BLISS. 

GRAPE  CULTURE  is,  at  present,  attracting  a  large  share  of  atten- 
tion among  the  most  active  and  intelligent  of  the  horticulturists  of 
our  country.  Its  importance  to  the  moral,  social  and  industrial 


HANCOCK   COUNTY.  281 

interests  of  our  people  is  now  being  so  thoroughly  and  practically 
brought  to  their  notice,  by  the  many  discussions  had  upon  the 
subject,  before  our  lately  formed  horticultural  societies  and  in  our 
numerous  and  widely  read  agricultural  journals,  that  it  bids  fair,  at 
no  distant  day,  to  become  a  new  and  permanent  branch  of  -our 
agriculture,  second  in  importance  and  money  value  to  no  single 
branch  of  agricultural  pursuits  now  existing.  Embracing  within 
their  limits  the  same  degrees  of  latitude,  and  possessing  throughout 
their  central  regions  a  climate  identical,  in  mean  temperature,  with 
that  of  the  wine-producing  countries  of  Europe,  it  seems  strange 
that  a  business  so  wide-spread  and  universal,  in  all  ages  and  coun- 
tries, as  that  of  grape  culture,  should  not  have  made  greater  pro- 
gress in  the  United  States,  at  the  end  of  two  countries  and  a  half 
after  their  settlement.  It  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  the  United  States  were  settled  chiefly  by  emigrants  from  coun- 
tries that  did  not  produce  wines,  and  that  it  is  extremely  difficult 
to  change  the  habits  of  a  people. 

The  cultivation  of  grapes  and  the  manufacture  of  wine  are  among 
the  most  ancient  and  universal  arts  known  to  mankind,  and  have 
been  extensively  carried  on,  at  one  period  or  another  of  their  his- 
tory, in  every  one  of  the  old  countries  of  the  earth,  where  not  abso- 
lutely forbidden  by  severity  of  climate.  Being  the  only  fruit  yielding 
the  kind  of  acid  which  makes  a  healthful  and  true  wine,  and  it 
being  a  well  ascertained  fact  that  the  people  of  wine  producing 
countries,  satisfied  with  their  healthful  and  harmless  wines,  do  not 
acquire  a  taste  for  those  fiery  potations  that  take  such  fatal  hold 
upon  the  appetites  of  people  of  non-wine  producing  lands,  and  are 
really  the  soberest  people  in  the  world,  the  culture  of  grapes  and 
the  manufacture  of  wine  assume  an,  importance  truly  national. 
The  opening  of  a  new  branch  of  industry,  of  a  nature  depending  so 
greatly  on  manual  labor  that  persons  with  little  or  no  capital*  can 
soon,  by  their  own  labor,  become  well-to-do  proprietors,  adds  very 
much  to  its  importance  in  a  country  like  this,  where  the  small 
amount  of  land  needed  for  a  vineyard  can  be  so  easily  and  cheaply 
obtained . 

The  antiquity  of  wine  culture  is  remarkable.  We  read  that  NOAH, 
upon  the  subsidence  of  the  flood,  "began  to  be  a  husbandman; 
and  he  planted  a  vineyard,  and  drunk  of  the  wine  thereof,"  etc. 
Now,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  these  first  recorded  acts  of  his 
agricultural  life  —  the  planting  of  a  vineyard  and  the  making  of 
wine  —  were  experiments  on  his  part,  but  they  were  unquestionably 
a  result  of  his  ante-diluvian  experience  and  of  knowledge  coming 


282  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF    ILLINOIS. 

down  to  him  through  many  generations.  The  bible  and  the  most 
ancient  writings  abound  in  allusions  to  the  vine  and  to  the  wine ; 
and  many  different  regions  of  the  old  countries  have  been  famous 
for  their  gra*pes  and  w*ine  time  out  of  mind.  The  culture  of  the 
vine  is  by  no  means  a  new  thing  in  our  own  country.  The  London 
Company  established  vineyards  in  Virginia  prior  to  1620;  and  by 
the  year  1630  prospects  were  so  favorable,  that  they  imported  sev- 
eral French  vignerons  to  attend  to  the  vineyards,  who,  it  was 
alleged,  ruined  them  by  bad  management  —  a  result  that  has 
occurred  so  often  since,  where  the  attempts  have  been  made  to  apply 
the  experience,  gained  in  Europe,  to  vine  culture  here,  under  totally 
different  conditions  of  soil  and  vine,  as  to  be  no  longer  looked  upon 
with  wonder  or  suspicion  on  account  of  its  proving  a  failure.  Wine 
was  made  in  Virginia  in  1647,  and  in  1651  premiums  were  offered 
for  its  production ;  and  on  the  authority  of  BEVERLY,  who  wrote 
prior  to  17*22,  there  were  vineyards  in  that  colony  producing  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  gallons  of  wine  per  annum.  In  1634,  the  yearly 
rent  of  Governor's  Island,  in  Boston  harbor,  was  a  hogshead  of 
wine,  the  island  having  been  granted  to  Gov.  WINTHBOP  on  condi- 
tion that  he  should  plant  a  vineyard  and  orchard  thereon.  It  is 
recorded  that  in  Uvedale  (now  Delaware)  the  English  settlers,  prior 
to  1648,  had  vines  running  upon  mulberry  and  sassafras  trees,  pro- 
ducing four  kinds  of  grapes,  from  which  they  made  eight  sorts  of 
excellent  wine.  WILLIAM  PENN,  in  1683,  and  ANDREW  DORE,  in  1685, 
attempted  to  establish  vineyards  near  Philadelphia,  but  neither  suc- 
ceeded. In  1804  a  Swiss  colony  settled  at  a  place  on  the  Ohio 
river  called  New  Switzerland,  now  known  as  Vevay,  in  Indiana, 
and  planted  the  grape  now  known  as  the  Schuylkill  Muscadel  or 
Vevay  grape,  a  native  grape  of  Pennsylvania,  to  which  had  been 
given  the  name  of  Cape  grape,  to  make  its  wine  sell ;  and  by  the 
year  1810,  they  had  eight  acres  planted  with  vines,  and  produced 
2,400  gallons  of  a  rough,  red,  hard  wine.  But  all  attempts  to  per- 
manently establish  wine  culture  in  this  country,  from  one  cause  or 
another,  failed  until,  in  1820,  Major  ADLUM,  having  found  the 
Catawba  grape  growing  in  the  garden  of  a  German,  in  Georgetown, 
D.  C.,  introduced  it  to  public  notice,  and  sent  cuttings  of  it  to 
N.  LONGWORTH,  Esq.,  at  Cincinnati,  who,  by  his  faith  in  it,  and 
perseverence  in  its  culture,  in  despite  of  all  opposition  and  at 
enormous  expense,  made  it  a  success,  and  for  the  first  time  made 
wine  culture  a  sure  and  permanent  branch  of  our  agriculture  — 
thereby  fully  entitling  himself  to  the  appellation  he  has  received, 


HANCOCK   COUNTY.  283 

of  "Father  of  wine  culture  in  the  United  States."  Thus,  after  a 
long  struggle,  wine  culture  has  become  established  in  our  country. 

The  production  of  wine  in  the  United  States  has  increased  from 
near  nothing  to  5,000,000  gallons  in  1862,  and  is  still  increasing 
rapidly.  Those  who  are,  in  any  degree,  acquainted  with  the  statis- 
tics of  capital  invested,  labor  employed  and  profit  realized  from  this 
new  branch  of  business,  can  fully  realize  that  Major  ADLUM,  when 
he  said  that,  in  introducing  the  Catawba  grape,  he  was  conferring 
upon  the  nation  a  greater  favor  than  if  he  had  paid  the  national 
debt,  did  not  speak  as  a  visionary  and  an  enthusiast,  as  then 
seemed,  but  simply  stated  what  is  now  a  proven  fact. 

The  ancients  had  a  proverb  that  the  region  yielding  corn,  wine, 
oil  and  salt  was  a  favored  land;  and  surely,  since  the  discovery  of 
petroleum  and  its  uses,  and  the  establishment  of  wine  culture,  the 
United  States  must  be  considered  as  especially  blessed !  In  view  of 
these  facts,  and  many  more  that  might  be  easily  adduced,  did  time 
and  space  permit,  it  is  of  very  great  importance  to  know  what 
localities  of  our  State  are,  by  climate,  soil  and  position,  peculiarly 
adapted  to  this  new  branch  of  agriculture,  as  proven  by  the  results 
of  experience  therein  for  a  series  of  years.  The  county  of  Hancock 
lies  just  north  of  the  fortieth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  being  (curi- 
ously) in  the  same  latitude  as  the  city  of  Erivan,  in  Armenia,  near 
which  the  vineyard  of  NOAH  is  conjectured  to  have  been  planted, 
upon  the  identical  spot  of  his  residence  before  the  flood,  and  where 
the  vine  still  flourishes.  Lying  some  ten  degrees  south  of  the  dis- 
trict of  country  where  the  famous  Ehein  wines  are  produced,  it  pos- 
sesses a  warmer  climate,  a  longer  season  and  a  more  fertile  soil. 
Like  Kelley's  Island  and  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  so  famous  for 
their  success  in  raising  and  ripening  Catawba  grapes,  the  bluffs  of  the 
Mississippi,  in  this  county,  lie  within  what  some  writer  on  the  sub- 
ject of  grape  culture  has  well  termed  "the  magic  circle,  influenced 
by  the  near  presence  of  a  considerable  body  of  water."  The  geo- 
logical formations  composing  the  river  bluffs  in  this  county,  as  given 
by  our  State  Geologist,  consist  of  a  base  of  lower  Carboniferous 
limestone,  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet  in  thickness,  belonging  to  the 
Keokuk  and  St.  Louis  groups,  overlaid  by  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  of 
modified  drift  and  loess.  These  bluffs  also  possess  that  clay  loam 
soil  and  clay  subsoil  so  favorable  to  the  production  of  trees,  wheat 
and  vines,  and  were  originally  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  tim- 
ber, consisting  mainly  of  white  and  black  oak,  and  shell-bark  and 
pig-nut  hickory,  with  an  undergrowth  of  red-bud,  sassafras  and  hazel. 
They  present  that  variety  of  surface  that  secures  perfect  drainage, 


284  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

while  the  elevation  of  these  bold  bluffs  above  the  low  and  broad 
river  valley  secures  to  those  vineyards,  located  upon  them,  immu- 
nity from  frosts,  and  present  locations  of  the  most  favorably  nature 
for  the  planting  of  vineyards  intended  to  produce  first-class  wines. 

That  the  only  proper  location  for  vineyards,  which  are  expected 
to  produce  first-class  wines,  should  be  upon  the  hills,  is  abundantly 
shown  in  Europe,  where  the  hills  are  planted  with  the  Pineau  grape, 
producing  the  famed  wines  of  Burgundy,  as  upon  the  Cote  d1  Or,  or 
Golden  Hills,  which  stretch  from  Chalons  sur  Saone  to  Dijon,  rising  to 
the  height  of  from  two  to  three  hundred  feet ;  or  the  still  more  famous 
Johannisburger  and  Steinberger,  as  upon  the  hills  bordering  the 
Ehine ;  and  the  plains  are  planted  with  the  Gamai  grape,  producing 
the  "vin  ordinaire,"  or  common  wine  of  the  country.  So,  in  this 
country,  the  hills  produce  the  best  wines,  while  the  rich  soil  of  the 
prairies  and  alluvial  bottoms  give  a  wine  so  deficient  in  saccharine 
properties,  that  it  will  not  keep;  and  the  "must  scale"  responds  as 
readily,  in  degrees,  to  the  differing  weights  of  portions  of  the  must, 
brought  from  the  hills  and  from  the  plains,  as  the  barometer  does 
to  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  at  different  elevations. 

Wine  culture  was  first  introduced  into  this  county  by  JOHN  SILLAR, 
a  German  carpenter,  who  came  from  Belleville.  Illinois,  and  settled 
at  Nauvoo  in  May,  1846.  He  bought  an  acre  lot  on  Main  street  for 
$425  in  gold.  A  wandering  grape-root  peddler,  from  Cincinnati, 
came  along,  and  SILLAR  bought  of  him  thirty-four  Catawba  grape- 
roots,  at  12|  cents  each,  and  planted  them  in  his  Main  street  lot. 
The  second  year  he  had  a  bucketful  of  grapes ;  the  third  year  more. 
In  1850  he  bought  a  five-acre  lot,  but  the  title  proving  bad,  he 
bought  a  lot  in  Kimball's  addition  to  Nauvoo,  upon  the  hill,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1851  planted  850  roots.  The  same  spring,  A.  EHEIN- 
BERGER  planted  500  roots,  at  10  cents  each,  and  H.  SCHNEIDER 
planted  five  cuttings,  of  which  two  grew.  In  1853,  Mr.  SILLAR  made 
his  first  wine — probably  the  first  ever  made  from  grapes  in  the 
county — about  80  gallons,  which  sold  for  from  $2  to  $5  per  gallon. 
In  the  dry  year  of  1854,  he  made  160  gallons.  In  1855,  he  made 
360  gallons,  and  planted  four  acres  of  vines,  six  by  four  feet  apart, 
as  he  planted  his  first  vines.  In  1856,  the  cold  winter  killed  the 
buds,  as  again  occurred  in  1864,  excepting  those  buds  covered  by 
the  snow.  In  1857,  he  made  3,500  gallons ;  in  1858,  80  gallons ;  in 
18  1,  2,800  gallons ;  in  1862,  2,700  gallons ;  in  1863,  2,000  gallons ; 
in  18  '4  (the  frozen  year),  £00  gallons,  of  extra  quality,  and  in  1865, 
2,003  gallons.  He  is  still  enlarging  his  vineyards,  and  intends  plant- 
ing 20,000  vines  in  the  spring  of  1866. 


HANCOCK   COUNTY.  285 

Mr.  JOHN  BAUER  emigrated  to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  from  Ohio, 
in  1851.  His  wife  met  Mrs.  SILLAR  on  a  steamer,  and  learned  from 
her  that  property  was  cheap  and  grapes  grew  well  at  Nanvoo. 
Having  been  a  wine  cooper  in  Germany,  he  was  induced  by  these 
facts  to  sett]e  at  Nauvoo;  and  in  the  fall  of  1851,  he  bought  eight 
acres  of  land  there,  on  which  was  a  small  house,  but  no  trees  or 
vines.  In  the  spring  of  1852,  he  planted  one  acre  of  Catawba  and 
Burgundy  cuttings,  six  by  four  feet.  They  did  not  all  grow,  by  any 
means,  and  he  has  replanted  over  and  again,  and  the  spaces  are 
not  all  filled  yet.  In  1859,  he  planted  two  acres  of  Catawba  roots» 
six  and  one-half  by  five  feet,  and  made  his  first  wine  in  1857 — some 
160  gallons;  in  1858,  made  80  gallons,  and  the  same  in  1859.  In 
1830,  he  made  1,300  gallons,  and  1861,  1,000  gallons — off  this  one  acre. 
In  1862  and  1863,  he  made  3,000  gallons,  each  year,  from  about  three 
and  one-half  acres  in  vines.  In  186  ^  (the  frozen  year),  his  crop  was 
400  gallons  of  excellent  wine,  and  in  1865,  1,400  gallons  of  wine,  of 
unusual  strength.  Prices  of  wine  have  advanced  from  $1.25  per 
gallon,  in  I860,  to  $2.50  per  gallon,  in  1866.  The  value  of  Mr. 
BAUER'S  crops  from  three  and  one-quarter  acres,  for  the  years  1862, 
1863  and  1865,  has  not  been  less  than  $3,500  each  year. 

From  such  small  and  insignificant  beginnings  wine  culture  has 
grown,  till  in  January,  1866,  Nauvoo  has  250  and  Warsaw  75  vine- 
yards, and  there  are  700,000  vines  growing  in  the  county;  and  the 
wine  crop  of  last  fall,  though  partially  injured  by  the  extremely  wet 
season,  amounted  to  47,000  gallons.  Owing  to  different  causes,  such  as 
careful  or  careless  preparation  and  after- culture  of  the  ground,  closer 
or  wider  planting,  and  the  great  variety  of  treatment  given  to  the 
vines,  the  yield  of  wine  has  not  been  at  all  uniform ;  but  there  has 
been  no  failure  of  crop,  from  any  cause  but  excessive  cold,  -for  the 
thirteen  to  fifteen  years  that  Catawba  vines  have  been  bearing  in 
the  county.  We  claim  that  the  river  bluffs  of  our  county  present 
locations  that  are,  by  climate,  soil  and  position,  peculiarly  favorable 
to  the  raising  and  ripening  of  Catawba  grapes,  and  to  giving  them 
their  full  wine-producing  qualities ;  and  the  value  of  this  fact  to  our 
county  will  be  readily  appreciated  by  those  whose  interest  in  the 
subject  has  led  them  to  investigate  it,  till  they  have  become  con- 
vinced that  the  Catawba  is  the  only  grape  producing  a  white  wine 
that  has  been  thoroughly  tested  in  extending  vineyard  culture  in  our 
country,  and  proven  a  success.  The  terrible  Oidium  Tuckeri,  or 
Mildew,  that  commits  such  ravages  upon  the  Catawba  and  other 
varieties  of  grapes,  in  the  latitude  of  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis  and 
Hermann,  has  not  affected  the  vines  here,  until  the  excessive  humidity 


286  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

and  heat  of  the  season  of  1865  caused  a  partial  loss  of  crops  by 
mildew,  but  only  partial ;  and  we  claim  that  that  loss  was  owing 
wholly  to  the  extraordinary  season,  and  not  to  our  soil,  or  climate, 
or  variety  of  grape,  or  age  of  vines.  It  cannot  have  been  caused  by 
the  soil  or  climate,  for  it  never  occurred  before ;  it  cannot  have 
been  the  variety  of  grape,  for  all  kinds  rotted ;  nor  can  it  have  been 
the  age  of  the  vines,  as  some  would  have  us  suppose,  for  we  have 
had  thirteen  crops  of  grapes  in  this  county ;  and  setting  aside  the 
first  two  crops  as  good,  because  the  vines  were  young,  we  still  have, 
in  the  remaining  crops,  just  ten  times  as  much  evidence  that  our 
partial  loss  of  crop  in  1865  was  not  owing  to  the  age  of  the  vines 
as  we  have  that  it  was. 

The  yield  of  wine  per  vine  has,  in  some  instances,  been  very  large 
for  vineyard  yield.  Joseph  Ochsner,  at  Warsaw,  made,  in  1862,  140 
gallons  of  excellent  Catawba  wine,  of  unusual  body,  from  120  bearing 
vines ;  and,  in  1863,  made  315  gallons  from  200  vines. 

The  success  of  those  planting  apple  orchards  upon  our  bluffs  has 
been  very  gratifying.  I  will  instance  the  orchard  of  Mrs.  B.  Slattery, 
adjoining  the  city  of  Warsaw,  forty  trees  of  which  were  planted  26 
years  ago,  and  have  been  bearing  21  years  without  a  failure  of  crop, 
till  the  late  May  frost  of  unusual  severity,  in  the  year  1865,  caused 
a  partial  loss  of  crop.  The  crop  in  1864,  from  80  bearing  trees  in 
this  orchard,  was  700  bushels.  Also,  the  orchard  of  Dr.  Griswold, 
four  miles  east  of  Warsaw,  of  some  40  acres,  one  crop  of  which  a 
few  years  ago  yielded  the  magnificent  sum  of  $5,000.  Also,  the 
young,  vigorous  and  carefully  attended  orchard  of  A.  C.  Hammond, 
in  the  same  neighborhood,  whose  twenty  varieties  of  large  and  splendid 
fruits  took  the  premium  at  our  State  Horticultural  meeting,  at  Bloom- 
ington,  for  variety  and  quality ;  and  many  others  might  be  mentioned. 
Thus  fruit  culture  has  become  a  permanent  pursuit  in  our  county, 
and  the  investment  of  capital  in  the  business  to-day  cannot  be  less 
than  $1,250,000  in  this  county. 

Nauvoo-  has  twenty-three  and  Warsaw  four  stone-arched  wine 
cellars,  while  many  more  are  about  being  built,  and  many  cellars 
are  rendered  cool  by  being  doubly  ceiled.  I  enclose  tables  of  care- 
fully collected  statistics  of  vine  planting  and  wine  making,  in  various 
parts  of  our  county.  As  to  varieties  of  grapes,  on  account  of  our 
unusual  success  here  with  the  Catawba,  full  90  per  cent,  of  the 
700,000  vines  planted  in  the  county  are  of  that  variety.  Mr.  Bauer, 
a  year  or  so  ago,  stepped  in  at  a  wine  fair  held  at  Belleville,  and 
found  Father  Muench,  of  Missouri,  delivering  an  address  upon  wine 
culture,  and  denouncing  the  Catawba  for  its  liability  to  disease,  and 


HANCOCK   COUNTY. 


287 


general  unreliability.  At  the  close  of  his  remarks,  Mr.  Bauer  begged 
leave  to  give  his  "experience,"  and  when  he  had  done  it,  Mr.  Muench 
made  the  "amende  honorable,"  so  far  as  this  region  is  concerned, 
by  saying,  "if  you  can  do  that  with  the  Catawba,  in  Hancock  county, 
don't  plant  any  other  variety;"  and  the  people  here  agree  that  it  was 
well  said,  and  will  vote  any  new  variety  of  grape,  for  white  wine, 
that,  when  fully  and  extensively  tested,  equals  the  Catawba,  an 
aquisition  indeed. 

I  append  hereto,  a  recapitulation,  showing  the  number  of  vines 
and  trees  in  gross,  in  the  different  localities  of  our  county,  and  the 
amount  of  wines  made  last  year.  Of  course,  those  observing  the 
large  number  of  vines  growing,  and  the  moderate  amount  of  wine 
made,  will  understand  that  it  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  so  large  a 
proportion  of  the  vines  have  been  planted  within  the  last  three 
years.  N.  W.  BLISS. 


WAESAW,  ILL.,  VINEYARDS,  JANUARY  1, 1866. 


Owner's  Names. 

No. 
of  vines. 

Galls, 
wine, 
1865. 

Owner's  Names. 

No, 
of  vines. 

Galls, 
wine, 
1865. 

C.  Albers 

9,620 

J.  Lohner  

1,500 

P  Albright 

1,000 

60 

H.  Seyhe 

1,200 

150 

Wm.  Bauder 

1,550 

560 

Marsh  &  Bliss 

5,000 

125 

Wm.  F.  Barnes  
Berg      

1,000 
500 

C.  J.  May  
Miller  

4,700 
1,000  • 

350 

Brill  &  Hoppee 

3,850 

Neameyer  

1,000 

A.  J.  Chittenden 

1,500 

100 

N.  Pierrot  

4,  000 

25 

W  W   Chittenden 

3  600 

50 

F.  Piedrit 

2,850 

G.  W.  Coster  

1,  000 

Wm.  Piedrit... 

1,100 

250 

Jno.  Cammera          ... 

500 

L.Pohl        

1,200 

C  Clingerbeil 

2  500 

130 

Jos.  Ochsner 

1,100 

190 

H.  Clipper 

i.ouo 

110 

H.  Roth                          ..  . 

700 

Dalhousie 

1,000 

Mr.  Richards  

3,  000 

69 

Dross  

1,500 

D.  Rinkle  

800 

30 

V.  Eichorn 

700 

196 

M.  Rinkle 

1,000 

Ch.  Eymann           

2,600 

180 

Jno.  Rinkle    . 

1,000 

50 

H.  Fuhlen    

2,300 

M.  Siller  

1,500 

80 

J.  G.  Fonda 

500 

20 

Geo.  Sauter 

1,000 

125 

Gieson           

700 

150 

Jno.  Stroh       .           .      . 

1,000 

60 

John  Gosch       

500 

Jno.  Spitz        '.. 

600 

120 

B  G  Grover 

1,800 

Mrs.  Sylvester 

3,000 

20 

Jno.  Goehrie 

2,  000 

30 

Wm.  Schmidt         

1,500 

150 

Jno.  Goating  .. 

1,400 

Ch.  Schmidt  

500 

30 

8.  8.  Grover 

1,000 

A.  Seygelke 

1,000 

100 

2,  500 

120 

Schwartz 

1,000 

Jos.  Hartmann  

1,400 

Geo.  Suter  

2<000 

Chas.  Hermann 

1,000 

80 

Geo.  Schott 

205 

10 

Chas.  Hay      

8,  000 

420 

Dr.  Werner       

3,  000 

120 

Jno.  Hay 

2,  700 

C.  Wisemann 

600 

F.  Herberts 

1,575 

375 

H.  Wevshenkel 

500 

Wm.  Hoffmann        

7,300 

100 

Wm.  Wilke 

500 

35 

C.  Hoppee 

500 

20 

A.  H.  &  G.  B.  Worthen 

6,  600 

680 

W.  S.  Hathway  . 

2,200 

25 

H.  A.  Worthen. 

060 

J.  B.  Heylin  

3,000 

450 

Felz  

490 

22 

1  500 

150 

John  Klopprodt... 

1,  000 

Totals  

135,  000 

6,  100 

Kinkel 

500 

All  others,  say 

5,000 

300 

Mrs.  Krawshaw  
H.  F.  Hoeneke  

200 
1,200 

33 

140,  000 

6,400 

288 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


HAMILTON  VINEYAED. 

BA8CO  VINEYAED. 

Owners'   Names. 

No. 
of  vines. 

Galls, 
wine, 
1865. 

Owners'   Names. 

No. 
of  vines. 

Galls, 
wine, 
1865. 

N   Lyons 

3.000 
6,000 
3,000 
2,000 

50 
800 
160 

Jacob  Boos  

2,000 
7,500 
3.000 

45 
80 

O  Voorhees              

Geo.  Marlot  

D  W  Crockett 

J.  McAdams 

C.  H.  Steffey                 

700 
1,800 

All  others    say 

26,  000 

All  others,  say  

25 
150 

840 

Totals              

Totals  

.40,000 

40,  000 
30,000 

1,010 

2,500 
500 

15,000 
10,000 

DALLIS  VINEYABDS       

All  other  localities  in  the 
county,  say  

PONTOOSUC  VlNETAEDS  

NAUVOO  VINEYAEDS,  JANUAEY  1.  1866. 


Owners'  Names. 

No. 
of  vines. 

Galls, 
wine, 
1863. 

Owners'  Names. 

No. 
of  vines. 

Galls, 
wine, 
1863. 

1 
John  Amer  

2,500 

J.  Aymer    

2,000 

H    Augustine         

1,200 

208 

Albrecht 

800 

70 

Ch.  August  

2,500 

P.  Bechen  

2,700 

F  Argast  

2,400 

Geo.  Brugger 

1,000 

Jno   Anton                       .  .. 

1,500 

Andrew  Burtin 

12  950 

700 

M   Aeker                 

2,450 

250 

John  Bauer,  Sr 

4,850 

3  000 

U  Bruegger         

1,200 

Hummel 

2,500 

120 

C.  Bruegger  

1,000 

Hemme 

2,000 

P.  Bechtold  

1,200 

22 

H.  Haas  

1,500 

J  Bierman             

800 

J.   Horning 

800 

Geo.  Pratz    

1,200 

250 

J.  Haas 

6,000 

350 

Emil  Baxter  

3,250 

950 

A.  Heyberger  . 

3,000 

750 

Win.  Bertrachi  

2,000 

J.  Hohl  

1,200 

H.  Bedier&Bro  

3,000 

Harnski  .. 

1,000 

Wm.  Bartlett  

600 

N.  Hall 

2,000 

A.  Begar 

7,800 

1,300 

V.  Humme  

2,000 

W.  K.  Burt  

750 

F.  Hausman  

1,800 

M  Baumert    

500 

C.  Hausman 

1,100 

P.  Balfe       

1,200 

John  Hobbs 

3,100 

G  Bechtold              

3,400 

G.  Herzog 

200 

30 

C.  Bohne  

3,  150 

400 

M.  Hauptman  

1,500 

Berger  Bros  

1,500 

J.  Hauptman 

1,500 

Jno.  Bauer,  Jr  

1,200 

125 

G.  Hauptman 

1,600 

P    Biesel                 

2,000 

M.  Huber 

4  250 

400 

F.  Becker  

500 

Hardenstein 

1,000 

Brielbert  
J   Bossier                       

2,000 
1.600 



H.  Helm  

Hornbacker 

500 
1  000 

70 

F.  Baum              

3.000 

C.  Harsch 

2  700 

14 

Geo.  Blum  

500 

G.  Hornbacker 

1,000 

Bradley  

800 

Thos.  Hake  

1,250 

Wm.  Boernstein      

400 

A.  Jungmever 

2  075 

80 

Bearersdorf  

2,500 

J.  Jungmever 

2,100 

30 

L.  Bidamon  

4,600 

50 

Wm.  Jackson 

2,000 

J.  Barrote  

500 

U  Jegg  

1,200 

W.Clark    

1,500 

C.  Knaust 

1,525 

A  Cambre 

1,000 

F.  Knythan 

11  600 

1  500 

E.  Cambre  .            

4,200 

225 

C.  Kuhn 

2  000 

35 

Cutler       

600 

Kursghen 

1,500 

100 

J.  Christ  

2,000 

280 

J.  Kauffman 

2,500 

80 

•  Dore             

750 

C.  Krehmer 

700 

A.  Durand  

2,150 

200 

C.  Kramer 

500 

J.  Durand  

2,050 

75 

A.  Korrbel  .. 

2,000 

H.  Dioxen  
K.  Dollinger  

3,000 
2,700 

Th.  Kelley  
H.  Klingmuller 

2,000 
2,125 

~"iso 

E.  Dorn                  

700 

Keiterling 

300 

W.  Dezeniers  

550 

E.  Kerkin 

1,000 

J.  Dorman  

400 

D.  Koch 

3,  000 

A.  Dansch            

800 

Mrs.  Kuhler 

1,100 

A  Davis 

5,000 

Jos.  Kirschboun 

550 

39 

C.  Duevel                  

2,000 

A.  Konantz 

425 

25 

Geo.  Diemer  

900 

F.  Killian 

400 

P.  Diessel  

900 

Mrs,  Kraus 

1,000 

John  Dornseif                     . 

1,400 

600 

Val.  Dieiner  

2,850 

250 

P.  Koechler 

1,000 

J.  Deffenday  

200 

5 

Kraft 

1,000 

1  —  Dachroth.  .. 

300 

H.  Lippert... 

3,  000 

1,500 

HANCOCK   COUNTY. 
NAUVOO  VINEYARDS-Continued. 


289 


Owners'  Names. 

No. 
of  vines. 

Galls, 
wine, 
1863. 

Owners'  Names. 

No. 
of  vines. 

Galls, 
wine, 
1863. 

Desbuches 

400 

F.  Lecoutx         

1,250 

T.  W.  Eisenbach            

1,750 

H.  Leinhardt  

2,400 

100 

Geo.  Edwards  

1,000 

L.  &  M.  Laubensheimer  

400 

Gustavus  Eberdt  

1,800 

W.  Lange  

400 

A.  Enderling          

850 

Wm.  Liehtner  

1,500 

Engler     

2,150 

J.Meyer  

2,000 

Mrs.  Fischer. 

1,500 

300 

J.  Mittenmeyer 

300 

J.  P.  Faber 

825 

James  Moffatt  

2,  100 

Wm.  Fritz           

500 

R.  W.  McKinney  

1,000 

100 

M.  Fischer  

2,650 

Martin  

500 

35 

Frisbie                       .  ... 

1,600 

C.  Neusel 

600 

G.  Gillhofer                

3,300 

900 

P.Nisei    

2,  000 

Gottscham 

200 

Jos.  Neusel 

500 

Grots 

800 

100 

H.  Neab                      

1,000 

G.  Gearheart                

1,500 

A.Newton  

450 

60 

E.  Gross        

1,100 

450 

M.  Newbrecht  

350 

K.  Graunhold 

1,700 

Jos.  Ogden 

1,500 

F.  Gantee                     

300 

40 

Ozaman               

500 

D.  Glaesiier                

1,900 

Ordekoren  

1,250 

M.  Hummer  

4,000 

800 

—  •  Prentice  

1,200 

P.  Hummel                         

2,000 

F.  Prosch 

1,000 

Hudson       

300 

Jno.  Putcher    

2,500 

200 

H.  Prentice  

400 

'J.  Schmidt  

200 

L.  Quint                                ,. 

2,000 

Schriber 

2,000 

G.Renschler         

3,000 

Tiebe 

1,300 

350 

H.  Rouner,  Jr  

1,050 

J.  Tensler      

4,000 

G.Robertson  

850 

Jno.  Tanner  

2,150 

60 

J.  Rohm           .        

2,100 

400 

Geo.  Tanner             

3,400 

150 

W.  Rheimbold  

1,200 

45 

T.  Treiss        

850 

200 

Renslaer  

2,000 

Tapper  

300 

Runvan     .... 

1,500 

P.  Thomas 

1,550 

30 

Alex.  Ritter  

1,625 

Thompson    

300 

Geo.  Ritter  

5,  009 

F.  Thomas  

1,500 

H.  Roine                      

1,780 

P.  Tanner 

2,200 

70 

A.  Rheimberger  

2,100 

400 

P.  Vallett        

3,500 

Reinan  

2,000 

Jno.  Wright  

1,500 

Jno.  Rogers  

1,500 

Jno.  Wimmer    

1,400 

1,400 

B.  Rhehnbold    

1,000 

E.  A.  Wa»borziehers 

5,500 

B.  Rheimbold.  Jr  

1,350 

F.  Whites 

300 

75 

Mrs.  E.  P.heimbold  

500 

10 

A.  Wolf..             

2,000 

A.  Stetzner 

825 

120 

P.  Wiemau 

600 

Stuiz  

4,250 

250 

P.  Wolf. 

600 

Jno.  Sillar  

8,200 

1,000 

J.  H.  Ward... 

300 

H.  Schneider  

4,000 

900 

Wilkey                        

2,000 

M.  Strohm  

500 

H.  Wiegand  

3,  200 

Mrs.  Sannmeyer    ..         .  .. 

1,000 

80 

Wimelmy 

2,000 

Mrs.  Stoffels  

700 

60 

F.Walter          

7.200 

500 

J.  B.  Schmidt  

500 

J.  Weisenborn  

2,025 

100 

J.  Schmidt      

1,500 

130 

Dr.  Weld 

600 

25 

J.  Summerhalter  

800 

Wiegand 

1,000 

Mrs.  Schultz.  .. 

2,000 

L.  Wolf 

2,000 

S.  &  M  

1,000 

F.  Wolf  

2,000 

H.  Schaeffer  

3,000 

M.  Waldenmeyer 

500 

15 

M.  Schnie  

600 

40 

P.  Walter.. 

1,200 

G.  Schilling  

1,450 

C.  Walter. 

1,350 

G.  Stamm  

700 

M.  Wetzel                       

100 

20 

Schleich^r. 

1,050 

B.  Wachman 

2,000 

45 

S.  Sauto  

1,550 

100 

P.  Wahl 

1,000 

2 

F.  Schaeffer  

1,500 

Zackhuber      

4,050 

1,150 

Stibenger 

320 

50 

Zulauf. 

300 

Adam  Swartz... 

1,400 

J.  Ziegelmeyer 

1,100 

10 

Schiff 

2,050 

350 

P.  Swartz    

1,500 

120 

417,950 

25,025 

P.  Schmidt... 

900 

10 

All  others  

7,050 

475 

Slate 

1  000 

G.  Schenck  

1,600 

425,  000 

25,500 

—19 


290 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OP   ILLINOIS. 


RECAPITULATION. 


Hancock  County,  Illinois. 

Vines  grow- 
ing Jan.  1. 
1866. 

Wine  made 
1865. 

Apple  trees, 
growing  Jan. 
1,  1866. 

Nauvoo  region  

425,  000 

25,500 

15,  300 

Warsaw  region  

140,  000 

6,400 

35,000 

Dallas  region  

40,000 

2,500  1 

Pontoosuc  region  

30,000 

500  f 

31,  000 

Hamilton  region                                      .       

40,000 

1,000 

Basco  region.              

15,  000 

100 

Carthage  region         

23,000 

Augusta  and  St.  Mary's  region  

22,000 

Other  localities  in  the  county              

100,  000 

1,400 

73,700 

Totals  

790,  000 

37,  400 

200,  000 

CHAPTEK    XIII. 


HARDIN    COUNTY. 

« 

This  report  embraces  the  results  of  examinations  made  by  the  State 
Geologist  and  HENRY  ENGELMANN,  and  also  includes  a  report  of  Dr. 
J.  (j.  NORWOOD,  on  the  Eosiclare  Lead  Mines.* 

This  county  is  situated  on  the  southeastern  border  of  the  State, 
and  is  bounded  on  the  east  and  south  by  the  Ohio  river,  on  the  west 
by  Pope,  and  on  the  north  by  Gallatin  and  Saline  counties.  The 
county  embraces  the  two  easternmost  tiers  of  sections  in  range  7, 
and  ranges  8,  9  and  10  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  in  town- 
ships 11,  12  and  13  south  of  the  base  line,  as  far  as  they  are  situ- 
ated north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  river.  It  embraces  a  superficial 
area  of  about  176  square  miles,  all  of  which  was  originally  covered 
with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber.  The  geological  formations  exposed 
at  the  surface  in  this  county  comprise  the  Conglomerate  of  the  Coal 
Measures,  all  the  subdivisions  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series, 
except  the  Burlington  limestone,  which  is  not  represented  in  this 
portion  of  the  State ;  and  the  upper  part  of  the  Black  Slate  of  the 
Devonian  series. 

The  surface,  over  the  greater  portion  of  the  county,  is  roughly 
broken,  though  it  possesses  a  fair  proportion  of  soil  sufficiently  level 
to  be  susceptible  of  cultivation.  The  area  occupied  by  the  Conglom- 
erate sandstone,  in  the  northern  and  northeastern  part  of  the  county, 
is  exceedingly  broken,  and  generally  arable  only  on  the  narrow 
ridges,  while  the  creeks  form  deep  and  narrow  rocky  gorges.  The 
soil  is  a  yellow,  finely  sanded  loam,  and  the  timber  consists  prin- 
cipally of  white  and  black  oak,  together  with  more  or  less  hickory, 

*  This  report  on  the  Rosiclare  mines  comprises  all  of  Dr.  NOKWOOD'S  manuscript  that 
came  into  my  possession  on  taking  charge  of  the  Survey  in  1858.  A.  H.  W. 


292  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

black  walnut,  sugar  maple,  etc.  The  southern  edge  of  this  sand- 
stone generally  forms  a  prominent  rocky  cliff  on  the  summit  of  a 
high  ridge  with  an  abrupt  southern  declivity. 

The  area  occupied  by  the  Chester  group  is  also  quite  broken,  and 
presents  numerous  rocky  cliffs;  but  the  hills  are  generally  lower, 
and  often  slope  gently  to  the  northward  in  consequence  of  the  northern 
dip  of  the  strata,  and  the  slope  of  the  valleys  are  less  abrupt.  The 
lower  sandstone,  No.  8  of  the  Chester  series,  forms  an  extensive 
ridge  with  a  high  rocky  summit  at  its  southern  declivity  very  similar 
to  that  of  the  Conglomerate.  The  soil  of  the  district  occupied  by 
the  Chester  group  is  a  yellow  loam,  and  the  timber  similar  to  that 
of  the  Conglomerate  region,  but  generally  somewhat  heavier. 

The  St.  Louis  and  Keokuk  limestones  occupy  a  considerable  area 
in  the  southern 'part  of  this  county,  and  embrace  the  richest  agri- 
cultural lands  in  the  county,  and  sustain  a  heavy  growth  of  timber, 
embracing  the  usual  varieties  of  oak  and  hickory,  black  and  white 
walnut,  sugar  maple,  ash,  elm,  linden,  etc. 

These  lands  border  the  Ohio  from  Rosiclare  to  Cave-in-Rock,  and 
for  the  most  part  are  sufficiently  level  for  cultivation,  though  a  por- 
tion of  this  district  farther  inland  is  considerably  broken.  The  prin- 
cipal streams  in  the  interior  of  the  county  are  Harris'  creek,  Ben's 
creek,  Big  creek,  Three-mile  creek,  and  the  east  fork  of  Grand  Pierre 
creek,  and  the  lower  extremity  of  Saline  river.  These  streams  furnish 
an  abundant  supply  of  water,  and  some  of  them  are  never  dry. 

The  Conglomerate  enters  this  county  in  the  extreme  northeastern 
corner,  and  forms  the  dividing  ridge  north  of  the  east  fork  of  Grand 
Pierre  creek,  near  the  north  line  of  the  county;  from  thence  it  ex- 
tends round  the  head  of  Big  creek,  forms  the  ridge  between  Beaver 
creek  and  Harris'  creek,  crosses  the  latter,  and  caps  the  divide 
between  Cane  creek  and  the  Ohio.  It  covers  the  whole  area  north 
of  these  points,  dipping  north  and  northeast,  and  ends  on  the  Ohio 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  below  Batteiy  Rock. 

The  Chester  group  is  not  quite  so  heavily  developed  as  in  the 
counties  further  west,  but,  according  to  Mr.  ENGELMANN,  who  made 
the  principal  examinations  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  county,  it 
attains  an  aggregate  thickness  of  from  seven  to  eight  hundred  feet, 
and  is  represented  by  four  or  five  distinct  limestone  divisions  that 
are  separated  from  each  other  by  sandstones  and  shales.  Its  area 
is  limited,  not  on  account  of  a  smaller  development  of  the  strata* 
but  because  they  dip  at  a  considerable  angle,  and  this,  is  also  the 
cause  of  their  not  exercising  so  marked  an  effect  upon  the  surface 
configuration  as  at  some  other  localities.  This  division  occupies  the 


HARDIN    COUNTY.  293 

valley  of  the  east  fork  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  the  country  on  the 
upper  course  of  Big  creek,  part  of  the  valley  of  Harris'  creek,  and 
the  valley  of  Ben's  creek.  It  forms  the  bluffs  of  the  Ohio  for  several 
miles  below  the  south  end  of  Battery  Eock  ridge. 

The  lower  division  comprises  the  lower  sandstones  of  the  group 
and  the  intervening  limestone,  Nos.  8,  9  and  10  of  the  series,  and 
attains  an  aggregate  thickness  of  about  250  feet.  Its  principal  out- 
crops are  immediately  south  of  that  portion  of  the  county  occupied 
by  the  upper  division  of  this  group,  and  its  southern  edge  forms  a 
continuous  and  very  prominent  exposure  along  the  summit  of  a  high, 
abrupt  ridge,  the  lower  portion  of  which  consists  of  the  St.  Louis 
limestone.  It  begins  on  the  Ohio,  about  3|  miles  below  Cave-in- 
Eock,  and  can  be  readily  traced  from  thence  northwestward,  until 
it  divides — one  spur  continuing  northwestward  to  the  Pope  county 
line,  covering  a  narrow  strip  of  territory  south  of  that  occupied  by 
the  upper  division  of  the  Chester  series;  the  other  spur  running 
southwestward,  and  striking  the  Ohio  at  the  isolated  bluff  below 
Eosiclare,  and  again  at  the  Pope  county  line,  where  it  covers  a 
surface  several  miles  wide.  The  dip  is  not  uniform  in  the  south- 
west part  of  the  county,  but  the  strata  dip  away  from  an  axis  of 
upheaval,  which  brings  the  Devonian  slates  to  the  surface  in  this 
part  of  the  county. 

The  St.  Louis  and  Keokuk  limestones  may  be  said  to  form  the 
river  bluffs  in  this  county,  as  far  as  it  runs  in  an  east  and  west 
direction.  The  St.  Louis  limestone  rises  from  underneath  the  Ches- 
ter group,  about  three  miles  above  Cave-in-Eock,  and  further  west 
extends  several  miles  inland  to  the  prominent  ridge  capped  by  the 
Chester  sandstone  before  mentioned.  From  Eosiclare  towards  the 
Pope  county  line  it  forms  the  base  of  the  bluffs  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, when  it  dips  below  the  level  of  the  river.  The  Keokuk  lime- 
stone forms  the  river  bluff  in  the  vicinity  of  Elizabeth,  where  it 
forms  a  low  arch,  and  soon  dips  below  the  river  level,  both  in  an 
easterly  and  westerly  direction.  These  two  limestones  also  occupy 
nearly  the  whole  area  between  the  two  spurs  of  the  Chester  sand- 
stone, in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  where  they  have  been 
upheaved,  and  dip  in  every  direction  from  the  centre  of  the  uplift, 
which  is  situate  in  the  southeast  corner  of  township  11,  range  7. 

Kinderhook  Group. — There  is  a  limited  exposure  of  siliceous  shales 
outcropping  in  this  county  around  the  borders  of  the  uplift  above 
named.  The  outcrop  comprises  a  thickness  of  from  forty  to  fifty 
feet  of  thin-bedded  grit-stones,  resembling  the  shales  overlying  the 
black  slate  in  the  vicinity  of  Jonesboro,  in  Union  county,  and  no 


294  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

doubt  belong  to  the  Kinderhook  group  of  the  general  section.  No 
beds  were  observed  in  this  county  that  could  be  identified  with  the 
Burlington  limestone,  and  it  appears  to  have  no  representative  in 
this  portion  of  the  State. 

Black  Slate. — This  is  the  only  rock  of  Devonian  age  exposed  in 
this  county,  and  it  was  first  observed  near  the  dwelling  of  Mr. 
Pleasant  Eose,  about  two  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  the  Illi- 
nois Furnace,  on  section  31,  township  11,  range  8.  The  entire 
exposure  does  not  exceed  20  or  25  feet  in  thickness,  and  forms  the 
center  of  a  basin  extending  about  three  miles  in  a  northwest  by 
southeast  direction,  and  about  two  miles  in  width  across  its  trans- 
verse diameter.  The  slate  presents  its  usual  lithological  characters 
here,  except  that  some  portions  of  the  bed  appear  to  be  partially 
metamorphosed.  These  strata  do  not  occupy  the  entire  surface 
over  the  above  named  area,  but  are  seen  only  at  a  few  points  in 
the  beds  of  the  streams  near  the  center  of  the  upheaval — in  the 
south  part  of  section  25,  and  in  section  36,  township  11,  range  8, 
and  perhaps  at  some  other  points;  while  the  higher  lands  within 
this  area  are  occupied  by  the  higher  limestones.  The  slate  also 
appears  on  the  west  side  of  the  uplift  on  a  branch  of  Grand  Pierre 
creek,  in  the  north  part  of  section  36  and  southwest  quarter  of  section 
25,  township  11,  range  7,  where  black  and  argillaceous  slates  crop  out, 
dipping  strongly  to  the  west,  and  succeeded  by  the  siliceous  shales  of 
the  Kinderhook  group.  These  two  outcrops  are  the  extreme  eastern 
and  western  points  where  the  slate  comes  to  the  surface,  and  the 
hills  are  mainly  formed  by  the  overlying  limestones. 

The  limestone  immediately  overlying  the  siliceous  shales,  on  the 
borders  of  this  Devonian  basin,  is  the  Keokuk  limestone  of  the- 
general  section.  It  is  a  thin-bedded  gray  limestone,  very  cherty 
in  the  lower  portion,  and  it  forms  a  belt  of  chert  hills  around  the 
borders  of  the  Devonian  basin  above  described,  some  of  which  are 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  in  height.  The  chert  has  been  derived 
from  this  limestone  by  the  decomposition  of  the  calcareous  portions 
of  the  mass  through  atmospheric  agencies,  leaving  the  siliceous 
portion  in  the  form  of  loose  masses  of  chert.  Its  entire  thickness 
exposed  in  this  county  we  have  estimated  at  about  200  feet,  though 
we  met  with  no  locality  where  a  complete  section  could  be  seen 
and  an  accurate  measurement  made.  The  characteristic  fossils  of 
this  limestone  are  not  as  abundant  in  this  county  as  at  more 
northern  localities,  but  we  found,  in  the  vicinity  of  Elizabeth,  Spir- 
ifer  Keokuk,  Hemipronites  crenistria,  and  some  other  forms  that  are 
characteristic  of  this  horizon.  Its  outcrop  on  the  Ohio  extends  from 


HARDIN    COUNTY.  295 

a  point  half  a  mile  below  Elizabeth  to  within  about  three  miles  of 
Cave-in-Eock,  where  it  dips  beneath  the  river  level  and  is  seen  no 
more. 

The  St.  Louis  limestone,  which  succeeds  the  last  named  division, 
in  the  ascending  order,  forms  an  important  feature  in  the  geological 
structure  of  the  county,  and  is  the  source  from  which  the  ores  of 
lead  have  been  obtained  which  have  made  this  county  somewhat 
noted  for  its  mineral  deposits.  The  base  of  the  "bluff  at  the  village 
of  Eosiclare  is  formed  by  the  upper  fifty  feet  of  this  bed,  which 
consists  of  massive  gray  limestone,  in  regular  beds,  the  uppermost 
having  an  oolitic  structure,  and  affording  strata  from  two  to  three 
feet  thick.  Tracing  the  river  bluff  easterly  towards  Elizabeth,  the 
lower  beds  of  this  limestone  come  to  the  surface,  and  the  rock  is 
thin-bedded  and  siliceous  and  contains  an  abundance  of  chert. 
This  limestone  also  forms  the  river  bluff  at  Cave-in-Eock,  and  for 
three  miles  below,  and  it  is  here  filled  with  siliceous  corals,  among 
which  the  Lithostrotion  proliferum  is  most  conspicuous,  and  often 
occurs  in  large  masses.  At  this  locality  the  limestone  is  dark-col- 
ored and  bituminous,  and  emits  a  fetid  odor  when  struck  with  a 
hammer.  It  also  outcrops  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Iron  Furnaces  in 
this  county,  and  has  been  regarded  as  the  source  from  which  the 
iron  was  derived.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Illinois  Furnace  it  is  a 
massive  dark-blue  fetid  limestone,  sometimes  nearly  black  in  color, 
and  contains  Lithostrotion  proliferum,  Pentremites  conroideus,  and  a 
species  of  gigantic  Archiceocidaris.  This  limestone  is  noted  every- 
where for  its  cavernous  character,  and  in  this  county  caverns  and 
deep  vertical  fissures  are  of  common  occurrence  over  the  surface 
underlaid  by  this  rock.  Along  the  river  bluffs,  between  Eosiclare 
and  Elizabeth,  a  small  Pentremite,  resembling  P.  Koninckianus  of 
HALL,  is  quite  abundant,  and  several  examples  have  been  found 
with  the  arms  preserved.  This  locality  has  also  afforded  the  follow- 
ing species  of  crinoidea :  Taxocrinus  semiovatus,  Platycrinus  plenus, 
P.  penicillus,  and  Zeacrinus  intermedius. 

According  to  the  observations  of  Mr.  ENGELMANN,  this  limestone 
rises  from  underneath  the  low  water  level  of  the  Ohio  river  not  far 
from  the  east  line  of  Pope  county,  and  soon  attains  a  considerable 
altitude.  On  the  east  side  of  section  35,  township  12,  range  7,  a 
mile  east  of  the  county  line,  only  the  highest  hills  are  capped  by  the 
Chester  sandstone,  while  their  main  body  consists  of  limestones 
which  extend  some  distance  inland  along  the  creeks,  but  gradually 
dip  under  ground  to  the  northward.  Thus,  on  Three-mile  creek  the 
limestone  is  still  in  place  near  the  north  line  of  section  31, 


296  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

township  12,  range  8,  while  the  sandstone  forms  prominent 
cliffs  on  the  west  side  of  the  branch,  at  no  great  altitude  above  it. 
The  upper  portion  of  these  limestones  most  probably  corresponds  to 
the  lower  division  of  the  Chester  group,  while  the  lower  beds  belong 
to  the  St.  Louis  group. 

The  bluff  above  Eosiclare,  near  the  east  line  of  section  5,  town- 
ship 13,  range  8,  consists  of  St.  Louis  limestone.  It  has  on  its  top 
large  blocks  of  sandstone,  that  appear  to  belong  to  bed  No.  10  of 
the  Chester  group.  The  upper  part  of  the  limestone  is  generally 
light  colored,  whitish  or  grayish,  or  bluish-gray;  some  layers  are 
blue.  They  are  partly  crystalline,  have  mostly  a  smooth  fracture 
and  are  rather  purely  calcareous,  while  some  of  the  layers  contain 
numerous  concretions  of  flint,  which  are,  however,  more  numerous  in 
the  lower  division,  which  is,  often  dark  colored. 

The  village  of  Cave-in-Rock  takes  its  name  from  a  limestone  cavern 
which  opens  into  the  face  of  the  bluff  a  little  above  the  village,  in 
the  southwest  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  13,  town- 
ship 12,  range  9.  The  cave  is  150  feet  deep  from  the  mouth  to  the 
rear  end,  from  36  to  40  feet  wide,  and  25  feet  high,  at  its  mouth. 
The  roof  preserves  the  same  altitude  through  its  whole  length, 
while  the  floor,  which  is  formed  of  earth  that  has  washed  in  through 
a  sink  hole  in  the  rear,  slopes  up  from  the  front  to  the  rear  end 
of  the  cave.  The  floor  of  the  cave  at  the  entrance  is  a  little  below 
the  highest  flood  mark  of  the  Ohio.  The  limestone  is"  quite  cherty, 
and  the  cave  has  probably  been  formed  by  the  action  of  water  per- 
colating through  the  crevices  of  the  rock  and  by  the  eroding  influ- 
ences of  the  atmosphere. 

Above  this,  near  the  middle  of  section  18,  limestone  was  formerly 
quarried  and  shipped  to  Memphis.  The  rock  is  here  tolerably  free 
from  chert,  and  is  suitable  for  making  quick-lime.  The  channel  of 
the  river  passes  close  under  the  bluff,  and  the  facilities  for  ship- 
ping are  therefore  excellent.  The  quarry  rock  overlies  the  strata  of 
the  cave,  but  more  cherty  strata  from  a  higher  level  crop  out  again 
farther  up  the  river. 

On  Big  creek  this  limestone  extends  to  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  21,  township  12,  range  8,  but  at  the  saw-mill,  near  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  section,  the  bluffs  of  the  creek  consist  of  sand- 
stone, which  also  appears  in  the  tops  of  the  hills  at  this  point,  and 
belongs  to  one  of  the  lower  beds  of  Chester  sandstone.  A  little  far- 
ther up  the  creek  the  sandstone  forms  the  entire  hills,  while  near 
the  northwest  corner  of  section  16,  a  mile  from  the  mill,  the  lime- 
stone rises  again  from  underneath  the  water  level  northeastward 


HAKDIN   COUNTY.  297 

towards  the  Devonian  upheaval.  The  limestones  in  this  part  of  the 
county  are  entirely  separated  from  those  on  the  river  by  the  inter- 
vening sandstones,  although  they  form  the  continuation  of  the  same 
strata. 

East  of  Elizabeth  the  limestones  extend  farther  north,  and  the 
sandstones  merely  cap  the  dividing  ridge  at  the  head  of  the  creeks 
which  run  southward  into  the  Ohio.  Thus,  Peters  creek  runs 
through  the  limestone  formation,  while  the  sandstone  caps  the  high 
ridge  northwest  of  its  upper  course,  in  which  most  of  its  branches 
head,  in  sections  11  and  1,  township  12,  range  8,  and  in  sections  6 
and  5,  township  12,  range  9.  The  Lead  hill,  on  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  4,  township  12,  range  9,  forms  a  projecting  point  of  the 
same  ridge.  It  is  capped  by  about  20  feet  of  sandstone  underlaid 
by  about  150  feet  of  limestone.  Southeast  of  Lead  hill  there  are 
several  ponds,  which  appear  to  be  ancient  sink-holes,  filled  with  water ; 
and  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  2,  township  12,  raEge  9,  a 
considerable  branch  is  lost  in  a  series  of  sink-holes,  leading  into 
subterraneous  caverns.  On  this  branch  the  limestone  appears  to 
extend  nearly  to  the  middle  line  of  section  34,  township  11,  range  9; 
but  above  that  point  sandstones  are  exposed  in  its  banks. 

The  main  body  of  lower  Carboniferous  limestone  that  surrounds 
the  Devonian  upheaval  begins  on  Big  creek,  as  already  stated,  near 
the  northwest  corner  of  section  16,  township  12,  range  8,  and  thence 
its  boundary  extends  north  of  west,  crossing  the  Pope  county  line 
on  the  east  side  of  section  2,  township  12,  range  7,  and,  turning 
northward  a  short  distance  west  of  the  county  line,  recrosses  on  the 
east  side  of  section  23,  township  11,  range  7.  Thence  it  runs  north- 
eastward through  sections  23  and  13,  crosses  a  branch  of  Big  creek, 
on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  17,  township  11,  range  8,  and 
Big  creek  itself  near  the  south  line  of  section  16.  From  this  point 
it  passes  southeastward  near  the  head  of  the  eastern  branches  of 
Big  creek,  crosses  the  Hog-thief  branch  on  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  30,  township  11,  range  9,  and  then,  turning  southwestward, 
runs  a  short  distance  south  of  this  branch  back  to  the  starting 
point  on  Big  creek. 

The  bluff  on  the  Ohio,  just  below  the  village  of  Kosiclare,  affords 
the  following  section: 

1.  Quartzose  sandstone,  capping  the  hill 35  feet. 

2.  Brown  and  gray  argillaceous  limestone 50 

3.  Shale 10 

4.  Limestone  similar  to  the  bed  above 52 

5.  Sandstone,  thin-bedded  and  highly  ferruginous 12 

6.  Lower  St.  Louis  limestone,  gray  massive  limestone,  partly  oolitic... 52 

Total  height  of  bluff  ...  ...211  feet. 


298  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  upper  part  of  this  section  from  No.  1  to  5,  inclusive,  belongs  to 
the  Chester  group,  and  constitutes  what  Mr.  ENGELMANN  calls  the  lower 
division  of  the  group.  The  lower  sandstone  is  quite  thin  at  this  local- 
ity, and  is  also  thinly-bedded  and  of  a  reddish  color.  The  litholog- 
ical  characters  of  the  upper  sandstone  (No.  8  of  the  Chester  series,) 
are  quite  distinct  from  this.  It  is  more  massive,  coarser  textured, 
lighter  colored,  and  in  its  general  appearance  resembles  somewhat 
the  Conglomerate  sandstone  at  the  base  of  the  Coal  Measures. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county  this  sandstone  No.  8 
appears  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Ohio,  at  the  edge  of  a  narrow  alluvial 
bottom  on  a  branch  of  Ben's  creek,  not  far  from  its  mouth,  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  10,  township  12,  range  10,  and  rising 
to  the  westward  it  forms  a  bluff  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek, 
which  extends  as  far  as  the  middle  of  the  north  half  of  section  16, 
where  the  lower  limestones  rise  up  from  beneath  it,  and  the  sand- 
stone continues  merely  as  the  cap-rock  of  the  ridge,  which  then 
recedes  from  the  river  in  a  northwest  direction.  As  already  remarked, 
this  sandstone  caps  the  ridge  on  the  Shawneetown  road,  two  miles  north 
of  Cave-in-Rock,  and  crossing  the  ridge  there  it  may  still  be  seen  on 
the  branches  of  Ben's  creek,  on  section  36,  township  11,  range  9, 
and  it  continues  on  the  main  branch  westward  through  the  north 
part  of  section  33  and  into  section  26,  while  the  hills  on  the  north 
side  of  the  creek  in  sections  26  and  25  are  formed  by  the  upper 
limestones  and  sandstones  of  the  Chester  group.  It  again  appears 
on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  20,  on  a  branch  of  Harris 
creek,  while  the  lower  limestones  crop  out  on  the  south  side  of  the 
ridge  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  30. 

Mr.  ENGELMANN  remarks,  in  his  notes,  that  on  the  ridge  interven- 
ing between  these  points  on  sections  27,  28,  29  and  32,  the  sand- 
stones are  exposed  in  very  heavy  beds,  and  present  some  peculiar 
features.  At  some  points  they  are  full  of  quartz  pebbles,  and  in- 
clude some  highly  carbonaceous  shales  which,  at  some  points,  change 
into  a  thin  seam  of  slaty  coal,  characters  that  would  lead  to  the 
conclusion  that  these  sandstones  may  belong  to  the  Conglomerate 
of  the  Coal  Measures,  rather  than  to  the  Chester  group. 

In  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  county,  near  the  Pope  county 
line,  the  successive  outcroppings  of  these  strata  can  be  plainly 
traced  along  a  branch  of  the  east  fork  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  in 
sections  2,  11  and  14,  township  11,  range  7.  The  high  ridge  at  the 
head  of  this  branch  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  ,2  consists 
of  Conglomerate,  but  the  upper  bed  of  Chester  limestone,  No.  1  of 
the  series,  forms  the  lower  part  of  the  hills  near  Mr.  HENRY  ROSE'S 


HABDIN   COUNTY.  299 

place,  west  and  north  of  the  centre  of  section  2.  A  little  lower 
down  the  creek  the  underlying  sandstone,  No.  2,  forms  the  bed  of 
the  creek,  with  a  strong  dip  to  the  north  or  northwest,  .while  still 
lower  down  limestone  No.  3  reaches  the  surface,  likewise  dipping 
to  the  northward,  and  continues  for  some  distance  along  the  creek. 
Near  the  north  line  of  section  11,  the  next  sandstone,  No.  4,  rises 
from  underneath  it,  also  dipping  strongly  to  the  northward.  Next 
comes  limestone  No.  5,  with  Archimedes  in  abundance,  and  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  11,  the  sandstone  No.  6  appears,  all 
dipping  to  the  northward.  On  the  east  fork,  both  above  and  below 
the  mouth  of  the  branch  on  .which  the  above  mentioned  outcrops 
occur,  a  limestone  is  seen  that  appears  to  be  No.  7,  while  sand- 
stone is  strewn  profusely  over  the  hillside.  Just  below  the  ford  on 
the  Shawneetown  road,  sandstone  is  again  seen  in  place  in  the  bed 
of  the  creek.  The  dip  here  seems  to  be  locally  reversed  to  the 
southwest,  and  this  last  named  sandstone  may  be  either  6  or  8  of 
the  Chester  series.  Just  above  the  ford  on  the  Equality  and  Eliza- 
bethtown  road,  outcrops  of  the  limestone  No.  7  again  appear,  with 
a  decided  dip  to  the  northwest,  while  below  the  ford,,  sandstone 
No.  8  makes  its  appearance,  and  also  in  the  sharp  bend  of  Grand 
Pierre  creek,  below  the  mouth  of  the  east  fork,  and  in  the  hills 
further  east.  The  valley  of  the  east  fork  is  almost  entirely  occu- 
pied by  these  Chester  strata,  while  the  Conglomerate  forms  the 
ridge  north  of  it,  near  the  county  line,  and  at  Up  head  in  section 
3,  township  11,  range  8.  The  Conglomerate  also  forms  the  ridge  at 
the  head  of  Big  creek,  on  sections  2,  1  and  12,  township  11,  range 
8,  between  it  and  the  branches  of  Eagle  and  Beaver  creeks ;  but  at 
the  southern  base  of  this  precipitous  ridge  the  Chester  strata  reach 
the  surface. 

Near  Mr.  RUSSELL'S,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  2,  the 
upper  limestone,  No.  1  of  the  Chester  series,  crops  out  and  under- 
lies some  low  rolling  hills.  Proceeding  thence  down  Big  creek,  the 
sandstone  No.  2  outcrops  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  2,  dip- 
ping beneath  the  limestone,  and  exposing  a  thickness  of  only  about 
20  feet.  Farther  down  are  outcrops  of  limestone  No.  3,  and  shales, 
and  still  below  sandstone  No.  4,  dipping  strongly  to  the  northward. 
It  continues  through  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  11,  and  across 
the  line  of  section  10.  It  attains  a  considerable  thickness,  and  con- 
tains some  shales,  and  a  thin  streak  of  bituminous  and  carbona- 
ceous shale  which  has  been  mistaken  for  coal.  On  the  northea.st 
quarter  of  section  10,  the  Chester  limestone  No.  5  rises  from  beneath 
the  sandstone,  dipping  strongly  to  the  northward.  Sandstone  No.  6 


300  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

appears  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  10,  and  near  the  south- 
west corner  of  section  11.  and  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section  14 
it  forms  low  bluffs  on  both  sides  of  the  creek,  and  is  underlaid  by 
the  next  limestone,  No.  7,  which  comes  to  the  surface  here,  and  is 
well  exposed  on  the  creek  near  the  west  line  of  the  northwest  quar- 
ter of  section  14,  and  also  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  15, 
and  at  the  southern  bend  of  the  creek,  on  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  15,  where  it  shows  a  strong  northward  dip.  Tumbling  masses 
of  sandstone  appear  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  16,  which 
probably  belong  to  No.  8,  and  near  the  south  line  of  this  section, 
the  lower  limestones  make  their  appearance,  arid  continue  for  several 
miles  down  the  creek. 

A  few  miles  farther  east,  on  a  branch  of  Harris  creek,  on  section 
20,  township  11,  range  9,  sandstone  No.  8  crops  out  at  various 
points,  and  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  20  a  limestone  is 
seen  which  overlies  the  sandstone,  and  would  therefore  be  No.  7  of 
the  series.  Still  further  northward  down  the  branch,  sandstone 
crops  out  in  the  hill  sides,  and,  dipping  northward,  soon  passes 
below  the^  surface.  It  overlies  the  limestone  last  named,  and  would 
therefore  be  No.  6.  On  the  north  side  of  another  branch  of  the 
creek,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17,  we  find  another  lime- 
stone, probably  No.  5,  reaching  from  the  water  level  high  up  in  the 
hills,  and  also  exposed  on  the  main  creek  on  the  other  side  of  the 
hill,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17.  It  also  continues  east- 
ward in  these  hills  towards  the  centre  of  section  16,  while  the  high- 
est points  of  the  ridge  are  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  4.  The 
sandstone  which  crops  out  on  Harris  creek,  on  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  16,  and  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  15,  is  also  appa- 
rently No.  4.  The  next  hill  north  of  this,  near  the  south  line  of 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  10,  consists  of  limestone  No.  3 
capped  by  sandstone  No.  2.  The  strata  dip  rapidly  northward,  so 
that  the  high  ridge  a  little  further  north  is  capped  by  the  Conglom- 
erate, while  the  highest  Chester  limestone  underlies  the  principal 
portion  of  the  slope  below  the  summit. 

Farther  east  on  the  upper  course  of  Ben's  creek,  on  the  north 
part  of  section  36,  and  the  southwest  corner  of  section  25,  and  in 
the  extreme  south  part  of  section  26,  township  11,  range  9,  sand- 
stone No.  8  appears  in  the  bed  of  the  creek,  while  the  limestone 
No.  7,  capped  by  sandstone  No.  6,  forms  the  hills  on  the  north  side 
of  the  creek,  in  the  south  part  of  sections  25  and  26.  Crossing  this 
ridge,  and  following  down  the  ravine  leading  north,  we  find  sink- 
holes, indicating  the  presence  of  a  limestone,  probably  No.  5,  and 


HARDIN    COUNTY.  301 

on   the   ridge    north    of    this,    another    sandstone,    No.  4.     All  the 
strata    in   this    part    of    the    county   have    a    strong   northerly   dip. 
Descending  northward  along  the  breaks  of  Rock  creek,  we  find  sand- 
stone No.  4  in  place  at  various  points  on  the  north  part  of  section 
26.     The   limestone   No.  3  crops    out   at    several   points   in  the  low 
hills,  near  the  south  line  of  section  23,  and  on  the  main  branch  of 
Rock  creek    sandstones  are  exposed  at  several  points  on  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  23,  belonging,  probably,  to  No.  2  or  4  of  the 
Chester  group.      Towards  the  head  of  the  east  branch  of  this  creek 
the  upper  limestone  No.  1  reaches  far  up  the  slope  of  a  precipitous 
mountain  ridge,  near  the  east  line  of  section  24.     It  is  mostly  con- 
cealed under  tumbling  masses  of  conglomerate,  which  forms  a  prom- 
inent   cliff  above  it,  and   caps   the  ridge.     These    beds    continue  to 
outcrop  towards  the  Ohio,  along  the  southwestern  slope  of  this  ridge. 
On   the   Ohio   river,  these    beds  crop  out    successively  in   the  big 
bend  at   the   southeastern   extremity  of  the  county,  along  the   edge 
of   a   narrow  alluvial   bottom.    As   before   remarked,  the   sandstone 
No.  8  was  last  seen  in  the  bed  of  a   branch   of  Ben's  creek,  in  the 
south  part  of   section   10,  township  12,  range  10.     On  the  east  side 
of  this  branch,  on  the   southwest  quarter  of  section  10,  the  base  of 
the   hills  consist   of  limestone    No.  7,   capped   by  sandstone   No.  6. 
Soon  the  limestone  disappears  below  the  surface,  and  the  sandstone 
No.  6  is  depressed  to  form  the  base  of  the  hills,  and  limestone  No. 
5  forms  their  summits  on   the  southeast  quarter  of   section   10.     A 
little  farther  up,  the   sandstone   No.  6   disappears   below  the  water 
level,  and  the  bluff  appears  to  be  entirely  formed  of  the  limestone 
No.  5.    Around  a  bend  of  the  bluff,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 10,  the  sandstone  No.  6  is  again  seen   at   the  foot  of  the  bluff. 
The  valley  of  Ben's  creek  here  makes   a   gap  in  the  bluff  nearly  a 
mile  wide,  and  on  crossing  this  valley  we  find  the   bluff   composed 
mainly  of  limestone,  with  sandstone  on  the    higher  points.     This  is 
probably  limestone   No.  3,  and  the   sandstone   No.  2,    Nos.  4  and  5 
having  been  depressed  below  the  water  level  by  the  dip  in  the  space 
now  occupied  by  the  valley  of  the  creek.     Further  up  the  river  the 
limestone  is  depressed  to  the  lower  portion  of  the  bluff,  where  it  is 
mostly  covered    by  the    detritus  at   the   foot  of  the  bluff,  and  soon 
disappears   beneath   the   water  level.      The    sandstone  continues   to 
form  a  prominent  cliff   along  the    hillside   in   the    northern  part  of 
section  ~2,  and  the  southwest  quarter  of   section  35,  in  township  11, 
range  10.     It  dips  to  the  northward  or  northeastward,  and  does  not 
reach  across  the  small-  branch  which  empties   into   the  Ohio  in  this 
vicinity.     South  of   this  branch  it  is  overlaid   by  another  limestone, 


302  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

probably  No.  1  of  the  Chester  group.'  This  limestone  is  overlaid  by 
the  Conglomerate  sandstone  that  forms  the  base  of  the  Coal  Meas- 
ures, which  thence  continues  in  an  unbroken  bluff  to  Battery  Eock, 
which  is  hardly  three-quarters  of  a  mile  distant.  . 

Conglomerate  Sandstone. — In  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the 
county  this  sandstone  forms  a  high  ridge  at  the  head  of  some 
branches  of  the  east  fork  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  and  thence  extends 
eastward  near  the  county  line,  round  the  valley  of  the  east  fork, 
with  the  summit  of  a  prominent  ridge  which  it  forms  mostly  north 
of  the  county  line.  In  the  eastern  part  of  section  4,  township  11, 
range  8,  it  turns  more  southeastward  round  the  heads  of  East  Fork 
and  of  Big  creek,  and  then  forms  the  dividing  ridge  between  Harris 
creek  and  Beaver  creek,  extending  northward  far  beyond  the  county 
line.  Although  it  is  largely  exposed,  and  penetrated  by  numerous 
deep  chasms  in  which  the  creeks  head  on  the  north  and  south  sides  of 
the  ridge, '  the  first  coal  observed  in  it  was  found"  on  the  upper 
course  of  Beaver  creek,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  1,  town- 
ship 11,  range  8,  at  the  Billy  Black  place.  In  the  hillside  southwest 
of  the  creek,  and  a  little  above  it,  the  sandstone  is  exposed,  and 
below  it  are  blue  shales  and  slates  in  which  the  coal  is  intercalated. 
The  coal  was  .covered  by  the  falling  of  the  roof,  but  was  said  to  be 
about  fifteen  inches  thick  and  of  poor  quality. 

This  sandstone  caps  the  ridge  north  of  Harris  creek,  in  the  north 
part  of  section  10,  township  11,  range  9,  and  thence  extends  towards 
Saline  river.  It  forms  heavy  cliffs  in  the  north  part  of  section  3, 
and  southeast  of  this,  on  the  lower  course  of  Harris  creek,  the 
limits  between  this  sandstone  and  the  Chester  group  are  not  well 
defined.  On  Eock  creek,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  Saline  river, 
this  sandstone  is  exposed  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  13, 
township  11,  range  9,  and  east  from  this  point  it  becomes  more 
prominent,  forming  a  high  and  roughly  broken  ridge  south  of  the 
Saline,  and  eastward  to  the  Ohio,  below  Battery  Eock.  The  dip  of 
these  rocks  is  uniformly  to  the  northeast.  A  short  distance  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Saline,  in  the  south  part  of  section  8,  township 
11,  range  10,  the  bank  of  the  Ohio  shows  an  outcrop  of  blue  argilla- 
ceous shale,  capped  by  sandstone.  Still  farther  down,  near  Caney 
creek,  in  the  west  part  of  section  16,  an  apparently  lower  sandstone 
forms  the  bank,  and  near  the  middle  of  the  south  half  of  section 
16  another  body  of  shale  rises  from  beneath  the  sandstone,  and  at 
Mr.  Seller's  place,  on  the  north  side  of  section  21,  it  has  reached 
an  altitude  of  30  feet  above  high-water  mark,  and  is  surmounted  by 
heavy  cliffs  of  sandstone.  The  sandstone  in  the  river  bank  at  the 


HAEDIN   COUNTY.  303 

Battery  Rock  is  apparently  still  lower  in  the  series,  so  that  the  shales 
in  the  river  bank  at  Mr.  Seller's  may  correspond  to  those  inclosing 
the  Battery  Rock  coal. 

The  Battery  Rock  is  situated  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
26,  township  11,  range  10,  and  its  base  projects  below  the  level  of 
the  Ohio  river.  The  sandstone  that  forms  the  lower  portion  of  the 
bluff  is  veined  with  tortuous  streaks  of  ferruginous  sand,  which, 
being  harder  than  the  intervening  surface,  withstands  the  atmos- 
pheric agencies,  and  so  forms  a  raised  net- work  over  its  exposed 
surface.  This  appearance  is  not  peculiar  to  this  locality,  but  may 
be  often  observed  in  this  sandstone.  Above  the  lower  sandstone  at 
Battery  Rock  there  is  about  60  feet  of  shale,  then  the  Battery  Rock 
coal  seam,  capped  by  shale  and  sandstone.  The  coal  seam  averages 
about  20  inches  in  thickness,  of  which  the  lower  portion,  from  1  to 
6  inches  thick,  is  rash  coal,  or  slaty,  brittle,  impure  coal,  which  has 
to  be  discarded.  This  rash  coal  generally  averages  from  3  to  4 
inches  in  thickness,  so  that  only  about  22  or  23  inches  of  good  coal 
remains.  This  coal  contains  some  sulphuret  of  iron,  partly  in  hori- 
zontal streaks,  partly  in  vertical  partings ;  and  also  some  fibrous  coal 
or  mineral  charcoal,  which  renders  it  soft  and  impairs  its  solidity. 
It  is  distinctly  laminated  with  alternately  dull  and  resinous  streaks, 
and  its  vertical  partings  are  also  strongly  marked,  so  that  it  gener- 
ally breaks  in  rhomboidal  pieces.  The  clay  shale  under  this  coal 
seam  is  full  of  vegetable  remains,  and  is  sometimes  soft  and  argil- 
laceous, and  at  other  localities  hard  and  siliceous,  resembling  a 
siliceous  mud-stone  more  than  a  clay  shale.  The  roof  consists  of 
gray  shales,  from  6  to  18  inches  thick,  with  the  remains  of  plants 
and  sometimes  thin  streaks  of  coal,  and  above  this  the  shale  becomes 
sandy  and  passes  into  a  shaly  sandstone,  which  at  some  localities 
extends  down  to  the  top  of  the  coal.  Several  drifts  have  been  made 
in  this  coal  seam  in  this  vicinity,  and  large  quantities  of  coal  are 
taken  from  it ;  and  although  the  seam  is  a  thin  one,  scarcely  aver- 
aging 2  feet,  yet,  as  the  coal  dips  strongly  towards  the  mouth  of 
the  drifts,  the  mines  are  always  dry,  so  that  the  miners  can  work 
in  a  reclining  position  without  serious  inconvenience. 

Prof.  LESQUEREUX  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  this  coal  is  not 
a  true  Conglomerate  coal,  but  is  equivalent  to  coal  No.  B  of  the 
general  section  of  the  coal  strata;  while  Dr.  D.  D.  OWEN,  who 
formerly  entertained  similar  views  in  regard  to  the  age  of  this  coal,  is 
said  to  have  expressed  the  opinion,  shortly  before  his  decease,  that 
it  was  a  lower  seam,  and  belonged  in  the  true  Conglomerate  sand- 
stone. As  Prof.  LESQUEREUX'S  conclusions  are  not  determined  by  strati- 


304  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

graphical  evidences  alone,  but  have  been  reached  after  a  careful 
study  of  the  plants  associated  with  this  coal,  his  opinions  are  cer- 
tainly entitled  to  more  consideration  than  those  predicated  alone  upon 
a  very  casual  examination  of  the  strata  with  which  the  coal  is  asso- 
ciated. 

The  shales  under  the  sandstone  that  forms  the  bluff  at  Seller's 
Landing  rise  rapidly  inland  towards  the  southeast,  and  inclose,  at 
one  point,  a  band  of  argillaceous  iron  ore,  about  14  inches  thick. 
This  deposit  may  prove  valuable  for  the  production  of  iron,  and 
should  be  thoroughly  proved.  Farther  up  the  ravine,  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  21,  4  inches  of  slaty  coal  is  exposed,  inclosed 
in  shales  similar  to  those  associated  with  the  Battery  Eock  coal. 
Farther  up  the  Ohio,  coal  has  also  been  found  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  11,  below  the  mouth  of  Caney  creek.  The  exposure 
is  on  a  ravine  at  some  height  above  the  river,  and  the  coal  is  also 
inclosed  between  shales  which  appear  to  hold  a  higher  position  than 
those  mentioned  near  Seller's,  and  to  overlie  the  sandstone  exposed 
there.  Where  it  is  exposed  now,  the  coal  is  only  a  few  inches  thick, 
but  is  said  to  have  been  opened  near  by,  where  it  afforded  16  inches 
of  good  coal,  with  about  an  equal  thickness  of  rash  coal. 

On  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17,  coal  has  been  discovered 
in  the  face  of  the  bluffs,  apparently  in  the  same  body  of  shales 
above  named.  It  crops  out  in  the  lower  part  of  the  hill  and  rests 
on  shales  containing  Sigillaria,  and  has  a  roof  of  sandstone.  It  is 
22  inches  thick,  and  of  good  quality,  and  similar  in  appearance  to 
the  other  coals  of  this  vicinity.  Farther  west,  on  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  17,  on  a  steep  ravine  'about  300  yards  from  the 
river,  it  has  been  found  again.  It  is  there  underlaid  by  a  consider- 
able thickness  of  argillaceous  shale,  and  overlaid  by  shaly  sandstone. 
It  is  said  to  be  two  feet  thick  and  of  fair  quality.  This  outcrop  is 
at  a  much  higher  level  than  the  one  last  named,  which  results  from 
the  dip  of  the  strata.  Coal  has  also  been  found  on  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  7,  or  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  18,  with 
considerable  carbonate  of  iron  in  the  roof  shales. 

From  these  remarks  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  probably  two 
coal  seams  in  the  northeast  part  of  Hardin  county,  of  sufficient  thick- 
ness to  be  worked  under  favorable  circumstances,  whether  they  belong 
to  the  true  Coal  Measures  or  not.  The  entire  thickness  of  the  Con- 
glomerate below  the  Battery  Rock  coal,  probably  does  not  exceed  150 
feet,  and  the  overlying  beds,  from  their  shaly  character,  and  from 
the  frequent  intercalations  of  sandy  and  argillaceous  shales,  would 
seem  to  belong  to  the  true  Coal  Measures,  and  not  to  the  Conglom- 


HAEDIN   COUNTY.  305 

erate  proper.  There  is  no  well  defined  line  separating  this  sandstone 
from  the  true  Coal  Measures  in  this  State,  and  for  this  reason  we 
have  included  them  together  in  the  general  section,  as  forming  but 
one  division  of  the  Carboniferous  system. 

Economical  Geology. 

Coal. — From  what  has  been  said  in  the  foregoing  pages,  it  will  be 
seen  that  this  county  has  but  a  limited  supply  of  coal,  to  be  derived 
from  the  two  thin  seams  already  described,  which  underlie  only  a 
very  limited  area  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  county.  Neverthe- 
less, owing  to  the  favorable  position  of  these  mines,  and  their  prox- 
imity to  the  Ohio  river,  they  have  given  employment  to  many  miners, 
and  have  been  worked  with  pecuniary  advantage  to  the  proprietors. 
Fortunately  the  county  is  not  dependent  on  its  own  resources  for  a 
supply  of  coal,  its  near  proximity  to  the  coal  field  of  Kentucky,  and 
the  facilities  for  cheap  transportation  afforded  by  the  Ohio  river, 
rendering  it  easily  accessible  as  a  market  for  the  coal  of  that  more 
highly  favored  region.  For  smelting  the  iron  ores  of  this  county, 
charcoal  has  been  heretofore  used  exclusively ;  and  the  dense  forests 
that  originally  covered  the  entire  surface  of  the  county  can  still 
supply  a  large  amount  of  charcoal,  for  this  purpose,  at  a  moderate 
expense. 

Iron  Ores. — This  county  has  long  been  noted  for  its  iron  ores,  and 
it  is  the  only  county  in  the  State  where  furnaces  for  the  smelting 
of  iron  from  the  ore  have  been  erected.  There  are  several  varieties 
of  iron  ore  in  the  county;  that  may  be  referred  to  different  geolog- 
ical positions.  The  carbonate  of  iron,  in  concretions  commonly  known 
as  "Kidney  ore,"  is  found  in  the  shaly  beds  of  the  Conglomerate 
and  Coal  Measures,  and  this  ore  is  a  profitable  one  for  the  manu- 
facture of  metallic  iron,  wherever  the  deposits  are  sufficiently  devel- 
oped to  justify  the  erection  of  iron  furnaces.  These  deposits  have 
not  yet  been  thoroughly  proved,  and  have  scarcely  attracted  the 
attention  they  merit.  At  one  locality,  near  Sellers'  Landing,  we 
observed  about  fourteen  inches  in  thickness  of  ore  disseminated 
through  about  four  feet  of  shale,  and  another  similar  deposit  above 
the  coal  seam  below  the  mouth  of  the  Saline  river. 

The  hydrous  oxide  of  iron,  or  limonite,  occurs  in  irregular  accumu- 
lations in  the  crevices  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  and  in  the  surface 
deposits  of  this  county,  over  a  considerable  area,  and  also  in  an 

irregular  bed  near  the  base  of  the  Conglomerate.    A  bed  of  this  kind 
—20 


306  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

of  ore  occurs  in  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of  the  county,  near 
Mr.  H.  Bose's,  on  the  north  half  of  section  2,  township  11,  range  7. 
The  ore  is  partly  in  small  pieces,  sometimes  in  large  masses, 
embedded  in  a  clay  shale  or  "soap-stone,"  or  resting  directly  on  the 
underlying  limestone.  It  forms  quite  a  heavy  body  of  ore,  though 
somewhat  irregularly  developed,  and  in  some  places  is  several  feet 
thick.  Part  of  it  is  quite  pure,  while  other  portions  contain  sand 
and  flint,  and  occasionally  masses  of  carbonate  of  iron  were  found 
mixed  with  the  limonite.  On  the  whole,  it  appears  to  be  a  deposit 
of  considerable  value,  but  its  extent  and  "richness  have  to  be  proved 
by  excavations  before  a  well  founded  opinion  can  be  formed  of  its 
value  for  the  manufacture  of  metallic  iron. 

The  limonite  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone  is  the  only  ore  hitherto 
used  in  this  county  for  the  manufacture  of  iron,  and  it  has  been 
obtained  mainly  from  a  belt  of  country  immediately  outside  of  the 
rim  of  chert  hills  surrounding  the  Devonian  basin  already  described. 
The  chert  has  been  derived  from  the  decomposition  of  the  limestone 
strata  of  the  Keokuk  and  St.  Louis  groups.  The  last  named  group 
is  everywhere  noted  for  its  cavernous  character,  and  here,  as  well 
as  elsewhere,  it  abounds  in  fissures  and  caverns,  the  result  in  part 
of  the  shrinkage  of  the  strata,  and  in  part  of  erosive  agencies  oper- 
ating upon  the  surface.  The  cherty  portion  of  this  limestone  is 
highly  ferruginous,  and  probably  may  have  been  the  source,  in  part 
at  least,  from  which  these  ores  of  iron  have  been  derived.  Water, 
charged  with  organic  matters  permeating  ferruginous  strata,  would 
dissolve  the  peroxide  of  iron  contained  in  the  strata,  and  on  reaching 
the  surface  would  absorb  oxygen  from  the  atmosphere,  and  becoming 
insoluble  in  consequence,  the  metal  would  be  precipitated  in  the  form 
of  a  hydrous  oxide  of  iron  or  limonite. 

In  this  way  ores  of  this  kind  may  have  been  derived  from  the 
ferruginous  chert  of  these  limestones,  or  it  may  have  resulted  from 
chalybeate  waters  issuing  to  the  surface  through  the  fissures  of  the 
limestone  from  subordinate  beds  of  ferruginous  material.  Much  of 
this  ore  occurs  in  stalactitic  forms  or  "pipe-ore,"  especially  in  the 
limestone  crevices.  The  ore  is  indiscriminately  intermingled  with 
the  surface  deposits,  consisting  of  sand,  clay  and  pebbles  of  chert, 
and  this  intermingled  mass  often  covers  the  limestone  to  the  depth 
of  thirty  or  forty  feet,  and  also  fills  the  crevices  of  the  limestone. 
The  ore  is  also  very  irregularly ." distributed  through  this  mass,  and 
hence  the  difficulty  of  making  any  satisfactory  estimate  of  the 
quantity  of  ore  that  may  be  obtained  from  a  given  locality;  and 
the  iron  master  can  never  rely  entirely  upon  surface  indications, 


HARDIN   COUNTY.  307 

however  promising,  for  a  supply  of  ore.  This  iron  deposit  corres- 
ponds, in  a  degree,  to  what,  in  the  lead  mines  of  the  West,  is  called 
"float  mineral;"  and  a  locality  of  iron  ore  of  this  kind  can  only 
be  considered  to  be  exhausted  when  the  entire  surface  deposits  have 
been  worked  over,  and  the  limestone  crevices  thoroughly  explored  to 
the  bottom.  Other  deposits  of  iron  ore  no  doubt  exist,  hidden  in  the 
superficial  material  or  in  the  limestone  crevices,  quite  equal  in 
value  to  any  hitherto  discovered,  but  no  definite  directions  can  be 
given  for  their  discovery. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  principal  localities  where  iron  ore 
has  been  found  in  this  county :  On  the  northwest  side  of  Big  creek, 
on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  4,  township  12,  range  8;  also, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 4,  and  at  several  points  northeast  of  this  on  the  same  hills; 
on  the  southwest  quarter  and  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  3, 
and  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  2,  in  the  same  township.  At 
all  these  points  the  ore  has  been  obtained  from  open  cuts  in  the 
hillsides  and  from,  irregular  openings  in  the  limestone.  The  ore  is 
partly  compact  limonite  and  partly  pipe  ore.  Much  of  the  ore  for 
the  supply  of  the  Martha  furnace  has  come  from  the  Jack  Moore 
mine,  on  the  northeast  (?)  quarter  of  section  34,  township  11, 
range  8.  Some  of  the  ore  from  this  locality  is  sandy,  but  it  has 
also  afforded  much  good  ore.  The  ore  has  also  been  obtained  at 
McCoy's  diggings,  on  the  northwest  (?)  quarter  of  the  same  section, 
where  it  is  found  between  walls  of  limestone. 

Several  miles  north  of  the  Illinois  Furnace,  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  ore  has  been  obtained  near  the  centre  of  section  17,  town- 
ship 11,  range  8,  in  the  superficial  material  above  the  limestone. 

Farther  west,  on  section  13,  township  11,  range  7,  large  masses 
of  iron  ore  have  been  found,  though  only  a  few  shallow  holes  have 
been  dug  there.  The  ore  is  also  found  strewn  along  a  branch  of 
Grand  Pierre  creek,  near  the  Pope  county  line,  especially  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  26,  township  11,  range  7.  West  of 
Peters  creek,  on  section  17,  township  12,  range  9,  examinations 
have  been  made  in  the  superficial  material  near  the  surface,  and 
small  quantities  of  ore  found. 

Two  furnaces  have  been  in  operation  in  this  county,  both  smelt- 
ing the  limonite  ores  above  described  with  charcoal,  of  which  the 
heavily  timbered  lands  of  the  adjacent  region  have  furnished  an 
abundant  supply.  The  Illinois  Furnace  is  situated  on  section  4, 
township  12,  range  8,  near  Big  creek.  It  was  built  about  the  year 
1837,  and  rebuilt  and  enlarged  1856,  and  continued  operations  until 


808  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  beginning  of  the  rebellion  in  1861,  when  it  was  stopped.  It  is 
32  feet  in  height ;  the  hearth  and  inner  walls  are  built  of  the  sand- 
stones of  the  Chester  group,  and  the  outer  walls  of  limestone.  The 
blast  entered  the  hearth  on  one  side,  while  the  iron  was  drawn 
from  the  opposite  side  and  the  slag  from  a  third,  while  the  fourth 
was  closed.  The  blast  was  furnished  by  two  horizontal  double- 
acting  cylinders,  driven  by  steam  power,  and  could  be  applied 
either  hot  or  cold.  The  flame  at  the  top  of  the  furnace  was  con- 
ducted under  a  steam  boiler,  and  then  round  a  heating  apparatus 
for  the  blast,  and  escaped  thence  through  a  chimney.  The  ore  was 
first  burned  on  log-heaps,  to  expel  the  water  and  prepare  it  for  the 
furnace.  '  Two  hundred  bushels  of  charcoal,  from  oak  and  other 
hard  woods,  were  consumed  in  the  production  of  a  ton  of  pig  iron, 
and  this  furnace  is  said  to  have  yielded  nine  tons  of  pig  metal 
every  twenty-four  hours.  It  was  usually  run  from  six  to  nine 
months  in  the  year,  according  to  the  facility  with  which  the  ore 
was  obtained.  The  metal  produced  was  of  excellent  quality,  and 
always  commanded  the  highest  market  price. 

The  Martha  Furnace  is  situated  on  Hog  Thief  branch,  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  section  2,  township  12,  range  8.  It  is  smaller 
than  the  Illinois  Furnace,  was  built  in  1848  and  stopped  in  1857, 
and  is  now  in  a  dilapidated  condition.  It  usually  run  about  eight 
months  in  the  year.  The  ore  for  these  furnaces  usually  cost  from 
one  and  three-quarters  to  two  dollars  per  ton,  at  the  furnace,  and 
the  charcoal  four  cents  per  bushel.  Although  many  of  the  local 
deposits  of  ore  first  discovered  in  this  county  are  apparently 
exhausted,  there  are  no  doubt  others  equally  rich,  yet  hidden 
beneath  the  superficial  deposits  and  in  the  crevices  of  the  limestone, 
which,  under  the  auspices  of  an  active  manager  and  close  observer, 
with  the  necessary  capital  at  his  command,  would  be  brought  to 
light.  For  an  analysis  of  the  iron  ore  of  this  county,  see  Dr. 
BLANEY'S  report,  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Lead. — Sulphuret  of  lead,  or  galena,  is  found  in  this  county  asso- 
ciated with  fluor  spar  and  sulphuret  of  zinc  or  blende,  in  veins, 
traversing  the  St.  Louis  limestone.  The  only  lead  mines  that  have 
been  worked  to  any  considerable  extent,  in  Southern  Illinois,  are 
located  near  the  village  of  Kosiclare,  on  the  Ohio  river,  in  this 
county,  They  are  below  the  middle  of  the  lower  Carboniferous 
series,  and  in  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  with  the  whole  of  the  Chester 
series,  at  least  six  or  seven  hundred  feet  thick,  overlying  the  lead 
bearing  strata  and  separating  them  from  the  Coal  Measures.  The 
veins  in  which  the  ores  occur  are  probably  gash  veins,  and  formed 


HARDIN    COUNTY.  309 

by  the  shrinkage  of  the  strata,  and  consequently  are  confined  to 
the  group  or  set  of  strata  in  which  they  appear;  but  as  this  group 
may  be  as  much  as  three  or  four  hundred  feet  thick  in  this  county, 
it  affords  an  ample  field  for  mining  operations. 

The  mines  at  Eosiclare  are  located  on  different  veins,  running 
nearly  parallel,  and  have  been  owned  and  operated  by  different  par- 
ties. They  are  known  as  Barbour's  mines  and  Pell's  mines,  the 
former  on  section  5,  township  13,  range  8,  and  the  latter  on  section 
32,  township  12,  rage  8,  and  the  Blue  diggings  on  the  southwest 
quarter  of  the  same  section.  Part  of  the  ore  raised  from  these 
mines  was  crystalline  and  part  granular.  The  principal  gangue 
appears  to  be  fluor  spar,  which  contains  lead  so  universally  dissem- 
inated through  it  that,  with  proper  appliances,  all  the  piles  of  refuse 
material  that  have  accumulated  around  the  old  shafts  could  be  prof- 
itably worked  up  by  crushing  and  washing ;  and,  without  such  appa- 
ratus, a  large  part  of  the  profits  of  mining  in  these  veins  would  be 
lost.  The  fluor  spar  will  command  a  ready  sale  for  the  manufacture 
hydro-fluoric  acid,  and  is  also  valuable  as  a  flux  for  the  smelting  of 
ores,  especially  where  the  sulphuret  of  zinc  occurs  with  the  galena, 
rendering  smelting  operations  more  difficult.  Copper  pyrites  is  also 
associated  with  the  galena,  but  only  in  small  quantities.  The  galena 
from  this  portion  of  the  State  is  also  argentiferous,  the  silver, 
according  to  an  analysis  by  Prof.  J.  D.  WHITNEY,  amounting  to  as 
much  as  nine  ounces  to  the  ton  of  ore.  These  mines,  however, 
have  never  been  worked  with  the  capital  and  skill  necessary  to  prove 
their  real  value,  and  they  have  been  entirely  abandoned  for  about 
ten  years. 

The  following  report  on  the  Barbour  mines  was  made  by  Dr.  NOR- 
WOOD to  Capt.  JAMES  T.  BARBOUR,  of  Eosiclare,  shortly  after  the 
work  on  the  mines  was  suspended,  and  it  embodies  all  the  historical 
and  statistical  information  relating  thereto  which  is  now  accessible ; 
and  as  the '  examinations  were  in  part  made  while  the  mining  engi- 
neer and  some  of  the  miners  were  still  there,  it  contains  data  that 
could  not  now  be  obtained: 

Dr.  J.  G.  Norwood's  Report  on  the   Rosiclare  Lead  Mines. 

History. — The  first  discovery  of  lead  ore  near  Eosiclare  was  made 
in  the  fall  of  1839,  in  sinking  a  well  near  the  river,  on  the  farm  of 
Mr.  James  Anderson,  about  one  mile  below  the  above  named  village. 
In  this  well  the  now  so-called  "Well  lode"  was  met  with.  No 
attempts,  however,  were  made  for  its  exploration.  In  a  second  well, 


310  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

dug  on  the  same  place,  in  1841,  not  far  from  the  first  one,  the  lode 
was  again  found;  but,  as  in  the  first  instance,  no  particular  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  it. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1842,  Mr.  William  Pell  discovered 
spar  and  galena  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  back  of  Bosiclare, 
on  his  own  land,  at  the  place  now  known  as  "Harrison's  diggings." 
In  consequence  of  this  discovery,  Marshall  &  White  took  a  lease 
of  Mr.  Pell,  and  commenced  mining.  Shortly  afterwards,  a  com- 
pany from  Alton,  Illinois,  composed  of  Dr.  Lathy,  Mr.  Hibbard 
Capt.  Kittinger,  and  others,  purchased  this  lease,  and  continued 
the  work  until  late  in  the  fall  of  1843.  when  they  suspended  opera- 
tions. The  next  year  (1844)  Gen.  Harrison  leased  a  part  of  the 
ground  covering  the  shaft  of  the  "Alton  company,"  and  in  the 
year  following  (1845)  a  company  from  St.  Louis  and  Mine  LaMotte, 
under  the  firm  of  Geo.  Anson  &  Co.,  leased  a  portion  of  the  lode  south 
of  Harrison's  diggings,  commenced  working  it,  and  prosecuted  the  work 
for  about  eighteen  months,  at  which  time  Anson  died,  and  the  lease  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Anthony  Vanlier  and  John  Stacker,  of  Tennessee. 

In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Valle,  of  St.  Louis,  became  interested  with 
Gen.  Harrison,  and  finally  bought  him  out.  Subsequently  Mr.  Valle 
united  his  interest  with  that  of  Stacker  &  Vanlier,  and  they  con- 
tinued operations  together  until  the  winter  of  1849-'50,  when  their 
works  were  suspended. 

In  the  year  1843,  James  T.  Barbour  leased  of  James  Anderson  a 
part  of  his  tract  of  land,  and  commenced  mining  at  what  is  called 
the  "Blue  diggings,"  situated  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
west  of  Harrison's  works.  In  the  year  1844,  Capt.  Barbour  made  a 
new  lease  with  Mr.  Anderson,  embracing  more  ground,  and  covering 
the  lode  now  known  as  the  "Good  Hope,"  on  which  it  was  supposed 
Harrison's  first  explorations  were  made,  and  the  outcrop  of  which 
he  had  then  discovered.  He  commenced  mining  there  in  the  spring 
of  1845,  and  continued  the  work  up  to  April,  1851.  From  1845  to 
1847,  he  sunk  several  shafts  from  forty  to  eighty  feet  in  depth, 
within  a  distance  of  200  yards,  running  south  on  the  vein.  He 
abandoned  them,  however,  in  the  year  1847,  and  commenced  sink- 
mg  the  "Good  Hope  Engine  Shaft,"  which  was  carried  to  the  depth 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet.  Throughout  this  whole  depth, 
galena,  in  a  gangue  of  fluor  spar,  was  met  with,  the  galena  becom- 
ing more  abundant  as  the  shaft  descended.  However,  circumstances, 
not  necessary  to  be  mentioned  here,  prevented  him  from  a  further 
prosecution  of  the  work,  which,  as  before  stated,  was  suspended  in 
1851.  Since  that  time  nothing  of  impoitance  has  been  done. 


HARDIN   COUNTY.  311 

Geological  Formation. 

The  veins  traverse  that  division  of  the  Carboniferous  series  generally 
known  as  the  Mountain  limestone,  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 

This  is,  in  our  country,  a  very  unusual  position  for  workable  veins 
of  lead  ore.  Indeed,  I  know  of  no  country  in  which  lead  is  worked 
to  advantage  in  the  Carboniferous  series,  except  a  portion  of  Derby- 
shire, England.  In  the  districts  of  "Galena,"  "Mineral  Point"  and 
"Dubuque"  the  ore  occurs  in  Silurian  rocks— not,  however,  in  regular 
veins,  but  occupying  joints,  fissures  and  caverns ;  and  is  occasionally 
met  with  between  the  strata,  in  beds  or  layers  of  limited  extent. 

In  Devonshire,  the  experience  of  the  miners,  after  centuries  of 
observation,  has  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  profitable  lead  lodes 
occupy  a  particular  horizon,  or,  as  they  call  it,  "zone."  BURAT,  in 
speaking  of  these  mines,  says :  "The  upper  beds  have  always  been 
recognized  as  richer  than  the  inferior  ones."  The  inference,  there- 
fore, is — first,  that  there  is  an  upper  limit  of  richness,  which  is  indi- 
cated by  the  arenaceous  bed,  termed  millstone  grit,  which  is  found 
at  a  mean  depth  of  from  nine  hundred  and  eighteen  to  nine  hundred 
and  eighty-four  feet.  Between  these  two  limits,  there  exists  a  hori- 
zontal metalliferous  zone,  having  a  mean  thickness  of  five  hundred 
and  ninety  feet.  In  certain  mines,  these  veins  were  worked  to  a 
much  lower  depth,  in  a  manner  to  demonstrate,  satisfactorily,  that, 
notwithstanding  this  apparent  concentration,  they  continue  to  a 
greater  depth ;  which  is  in  accordance  with  the  general  law  of  veins, 
so  far  as  their  vertical  extent  is  concerned.  The  horizontal  beds 
constitute  no  exception  to  this  rule,  and  ought  to  be  considered  as  a 
spreading  out  or  ramification  of  the  veins  between  the  planes  of  the 
beds  which  they  traverse. 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  a  similar  metalliferous  zone 
exists  in  the  lead-bearing  rocks  of  this  country.  If  so,  judging  from 
its  place  in  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  Northern  Illinois  and  Missouri,  it  is 
far  below  the  deepest  workings  yet  made  at  Rosiclare. 

The  Veins. — On  the  tract  occupied  by  Capt.  James  T.  Barbour, 
four  veins  have  been  discovered,  up  to  the  present  time,  and  are 
generally  designated  as — first,  the  "Good  Hope  vein;"  second, 
"Blue  lode;"  third,  "The  Cross  vein;"  and  fourth,  "Anderson's  Wei 
lode." 

The  "Blue  lode"  bears  north  29°  east. 

The  "Good  Hope  vein"  bears  north  21°  east. 

The  "Cross  vein"  bears  north  35°  east. 

The  "Anderson  Well  lode"  bears  north  3°  east. 


312  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

In  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  these  veins,  on  the  land  of  Mr. 
William  Pell,  is  a  good  lead  lode,  which  has  been  worked  to  some 
extent,  and  bears  north  3°  45'  east.  No  report,  however,  will  be 
made  at  present  on  this  lode,  and  it  is  only  mentioned  here  to 
enable  the  practical  miner  to  see,  at  a  glance,  the  entire  association 
of  veins  in  the  mining  ground  of  Eosiclare. 

Barbour's  mines  are  situated  on  an  elevated  ridge,  somewhat 
detached  from  the  main  body  of  hills  which  form  the  principal 
features  of  that  section  of  country.  This  ridge  terminates  in  high 
rocky  bluffs  on  the  Ohio  river,  immediately  below  the  village  of 
Eosiclare.  It  is  about  half  a  mile  in  width,  but  presents  a  rather 
broken  outline  in  consequence  of  being  intersected  by  several  stream- 
lets and  numerous  small  ravines,  due  to  the  erosive  action  of  run- 
ning water.  The  slopes  on  the  eastern  and  western  sides  are  at 
angles  varying  from  ten  to  thirty  degrees. 

Of  the  lodes  mentioned,  the  "Good  Hope"  is  the  principal  one,  at 
least  it  is  the  only  one,  that  has  been  proved  to  any  extent.  Upon 
this  vein  five  shafts  have  been  sunk,  besides  one  or  two  holes  not 
deserving  notice. 

The  "Good  Hope"  lode  varies  from  eight  to  eighteen  feet  in  width, 
and  hades  from  eighty  to  eighty-five  degrees  to  the  northwest.  The 
wall  rocks  are  limestone.  The  gangue  is  chiefly  fluor  spar,  carrying 
galena  and  zinc  blende.  It  may  also  be  well  to  state  that  sulphuret 
of  copper  is  occasionally  met  with  in  specks  and  small  lumps.  For 
the  measurements  and  results,  given  in  the  following  statement,  I 
am  principally  indebted  to  Mr.  W.  F.  HASLETT,  who  was  cognizant 
of  every  material  fact  brought  to  light  during  the  time  they  were 
worked.  The  workings  were  also  entered  and  examined  by  Mr.  A. 
VABNER,  assistant  in  the  State  Geological  Survey,  while  they  were 
in  full  operation,  and  his  statement  not  only  confirms  that  of  Mr. 
HASLETT,  but  he  adds  many  observations  going  to  prove  the  valuable 
nature  of  the  lode,  so  far  as  his  observations  could  enable  him  to 
form  an  opinion. 

Good  Hope  Engine  Shaft. — The  size  of  this  shaft  is  seven  by  seven 
and  a  half  feet.  For  the  first  thirty  feet  down,  fluor  spar  is  sparsely 
intermixed  with  specks  of  galena.  From  this  depth  there  is  a  gen- 
eral increase  of  galena,  disseminated  in  lumps  through  the  fluor 
spar,  to  the  depth  of  ninety-five  feet,  the  bottom  of  the  drift,  which 
runs  in  the  vein,  northerly,  one  hundred  and  forty  feet.  Occasion- 
ally, at  regular  distances,  rich  spots  or  bunches  of  galena  were  met 
with,  varying  in  quantity  from  one  to  five  or  six  thousand  pounds, 


HAEDIN   COUNTY.  313 

increasing  in  richness  as  the  workings  progressed  in  depth,  while  the 
intermediate  or  poorer  parts  of  the  lode  became  constantly  more 
loaded  with  ore. 

The  next  five  feet,  which  extends  down  to  the  cavern,  is  very  rich 
in  galena,  which  is  disseminated  through  the  fluor  spar.  On  the 
west  side  sulphuret  of  zinc  (black-jack)  is  met  with.  Out  of  this 
cavity  there  was  raised  some  20,000  pounds  of  galena.  The  140 
feet  drift  spoken  of  above  is  from  four  to  five  feet  in  width,  and 
from  five  to  eight  feet  in  height.  It  runs  along  the  east  wall  rock, 
with  a  sheet  of  soft,  slaty,  argillaceous  material,  from  two  to  eight 
inches  thick,  dividing  it  from  the  fluor  spar  and  galena,  with  occa- 
sional lumps  of  zinc  blende.  Pockets,  or  small  openings,  were  fre- 
quently met  with,  which  contained,  generally,  oehreous  clay,  with 
some  carbonate  of  lead.  Immediately  around  these  pockets  there  is 
generally  an  increase  of  lead  ore.  Se'ams  of  pure  galena  are  fre- 
quently found  running  through  the  soft,  slaty  material  on  the  side 
of  the  vein,  and  lumps  are  found  disseminated  in  the  hard  wall 
rock,  to  the  depth  of  three  or  four  inches  from  its  face.  The  metal- 
liferous character  of  the  drift  resembles  very  much  the  shaft  leading 
to  it,  as  respects  the  rich  and  poor  places,  and  would,  on  the  whole, 
afford  a  profit  on  the  expenses  of  working  it.  The  "Cavern"  is  from 
ten  to  twelve  feet  in  width,  about  thirty  feet  in  length,  and  extends 
along  the  vein  northerly.  It  is  about  twenty  feet  in  depth.  The 
sides  and  top  are  incrusted  with  fluor  spar,  intermixed  with  galena 
in  lumps.  For  one-half  of  its  depth  it  is  open,  the  remainder  being 
filled  with  decomposing  spar,  oehreous  clay,  and  loose  masses  of 
galena,  occasionally  reaching  from  50  to  100  pounds  in  weight. 
Opposite  this  cavern  is  a  drift  running  southerly,  twenty  feet  in 
length.  This  was  rich  in  bunches  of  large  cubes  of  galena,  extend- 
ing for  some  ten  or  twelve  feet.  From  this  gallery  more  than  20,000 
pounds  of  ore  was  taken.  The  lode  then  became  leaner,  more  fluor 
spar  being  intermixed  with  the  galena,  while  on  the  west  side  "black- 
jack" was  found  in  the  seam  which  divides  the  lode.  Many  pockets 
of  galena,  however,  were  still  found  in  this  seam.  The  lower  ten 
feet  of  the  shaft  is  composed,  for  the  first  five  feet,  mostly  of  decom- 
posing fluor  spar,  intermixed  with  galena,  of  which  there  are  many 
pockets.  The  spar  then  becomes  more  compact,  and  the  ore  increases 
in  quantity  to  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  where  it  will  pay  for  work- 
ing. 

Barbour's  Whim  Shaft. — This  shaft  was  started  on  the  east  side  of 
the  lode,  but  very  near  to  it,  and  sunk  perpendicularly  forty-seven  feet, 
through  an  oehreous  clay,  loose  fragments  of  limestone  and  masses 


314  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

of  fluor  spar.  A  cross-cut  was  then  made  westerly,  about  five  feet 
in  width  and  six  in  height,  which  passes,  for  four  feet,  through 
clay,  loose  rock  and  decomposing  spar.  The  lode  then  begins  to 
make  its  appearance,  composed  entirely  of  a  yellowish-colored,  decom- 
posing fluor  spar,  very  rich  in  galena.  Passing  through  this  portion 
of  the  lode,  the  spar  becomes  more  compact,  and  occasional  pockets, 
containing  ochreous  clay  and  carbonate  of  lead,  are  met  with,  for 
the  depth  of  six  feet,  when  the  main  seam  is  reached,  which  passes 
vertically  through  the  lode.  This  seam  is  sometimes  very  much 
contracted,  but  its  sides,  which  are  sometimes  composed  of  compact, 
yellow  fluor  spar,  and  again  of  the  same  material  in  a  state  of 
decomposition,  with  pockets  or  openings,  never  coalesce. 

This  seam  contains  many  openings  or  pockets,  through  which  all 
the  water  of  the  lode  passes.  On  the  west  side  of  this  seam  a  thin 
sheet  of  "black-jack"  is  frequently  found,  varying  from  one  to  two 
or  three  inches  in  width. 

Adjoining  this  seam  the  surface  of  the  fluor  spar  is  smooth,  and 
resembles  what  is  generally  termed,  in  mining  language,  "slicken 
sides."  Passing  this  seam  about  three  feet,  through  a  hard,  fine- 
grained, bluish  fluor  spar,  interspersed  with  occasional  lumps  of 
steel-grained  galena,  a  vertical  seam  of  coarse-grained  sulphuret  of 
lead  is  met  with,  in  small  lumps,  varying  in  diameter  from  one  to 
four  inches.  The  lumps  of  galena  are  separated  by  thin  septae  of 
fluor  spar.  About  three  feet  westerly,  on  the  cross-cut,  after  pass- 
ing through  a  soft  and  brash  white  and  yellow  fluor  spar,  another 
seam,  of  about  the  same  size  and  character,  is  met  with,  intermixed 
with  lumps  of  coarse-grained  ore.  From  this  point  to  the  west  wall 
rock,  some  four  or  five  feet,  the  character  of  the  vein  remains  the 
same.  A  thin  sheet  of  argillite  lays  between  the  fluor  spar  and  the 
wall  rock.  On  the  east  side  of  the  seam  which  divides  the  vein,  a 
shaft,  between  five  and  six  feet  square,  is  continued  down  from  the 
cross-cut  to  the  depth  of  ten  feet.  Through  this  whole  depth  it  is 
represented  as  being  rich  in  coarse-grained  galena,  embedded  in 
decomposing  fluor  spar.  Much  of  this  part  of  the  lode  was  worked 
with  a  pick  without  blasting.  During  the  last  ten  hours  it  was 
worked,  not  less  than  a  thousand  pounds  of  the  best  quality  of  galena 
is  said  to  have  been  taken  out. 

Another  shaft  was  sunk  on  this  lode  about  one  hundred  feet  north 
of  the  "Whim  Shaft,"  and  to  nearly  the  same  depth,  which  corre- 
sponded, in  almost  every  particular,  with  the  one  described. 

Blue  Lode. — Two  shafts  have  been  sunk  on  this  vein,  each  about 
thirty  feet  in  depth.  It  is  about  six  feet  wide  at  the  surface,  and 


HAEDIN   COUNTY.  315 

hades  to  the  east,  or  in  direct  opposition  to  the  pitch  of  the  Good 
Hope  vein,  and  about  the  same  angle.  About  twenty  feet  below  the 
surface  a  cross-cut  was  made,  which  showed  the  vein  to  be  eleven 
feet  at  that  depth.  The  gangue  is  violet-colored  fluor  spar.  The 
"Cross  vein"  shows  itself  about  one  hundred  yards  westerly  from  the 
shafts  just  mentioned,  and  is  about  three  feet  in  width.  Like  the 
other,  it  is  composed  of  fluor  spar,  carrying  galena. 

Anderson's  Well  Lode, — This  vein,  as  before  stated,  was  discovered 
by  the  sinking  of  a  well.  This  well  caved  in,  and  another  was  sunk 
about  twenty  feet  from  ifo,  also  on  the  vein.  By  this  its  course  or 
bearing  was  ascertained.  At  the  bottom  of  the  first  well  the  vein  is 
represented  as  having  been  very  rich  in  galena.  This  lode,  if  it 
continues  its  direction  after  connecting  with  the  Good  Hope  vein, 
will  strike  the  Blue  lode  a  little  north  of  the  old  workings.  Its 
course  is  nearly,  if  not  precisely,  parallel  to  the  workable  lode  on 
Pell's  mining  ground. 

In  relation  to  the  further  prosecution  of  the  work  on  Baurbour's 
premises,  I  can  only  repeat  what  was  said  in  the  "Keport  of  Pro- 
gress," made  to  the  Legislature  of  Illinois  at  its  last  session.  When 
speaking  of  the  large  sums  of  money  which  have  been  expended 
there  without  any  adequate  returns,  the  report  says : 

"I  am  satisfied  that  this  has  resulted  more  from  the  injudicious 
manner  in  which  the  mining  operations  were  carried  on,  than  from 
the  absolute  poverty  of  the  veins  that  have  been  opened.  They  have 
never  yet  been  proved.  This  can  only  be  done  by  the  drill  and  the 
pick,  and  the  proprietors  have,  in  my  opinion,  stopped  far  short  of 
the  proper  point." 

The  uniform  width  of  the  veins,  the  character  of  the  gangue  and 
the  nature  of  the  wall  rock  (limestone),  are  all  favorable  indications 
of  a  valuable  lode.  The  character  of  the  ore  varies  somewhat  at 
different  shafts  and  at  different  depths.  It  is  mostly  cubical  galena, 
with  patches  of  granular  ore  on  the  west  side  of  the  seam  dividing 
the  vein.  One  specimen  (the  only  one  I  cupelled)  yielded  a  bead  of 
silver  of  such  size  as  to  impress  me  with  the  opinion  that  certain 
portions,  at  least,  of  the  vein  might  be  considered  "argentiferous," 
in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term.  No  quantitative  analysis  of  this 
ore,  however,  has  yet  been  made.  You  must;  therefore,  attach  no 
undue  weight  to  this  opinion. 

It  may  also  be  well  to  state  that  these  mines  are  very  favorably 
located.  They  are  within  half  a  mile  of  the  Ohio  river,  which, 
being  navigable  for  the  greatest  part  of  the  year,  affords  the  requi- 
site facilities  for  carrying  off  the  products  of  the  mines,  as  well  as 


316  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

for  procuring  all  the  materials  necessary  for  building  up  and  carry- 
ing -on  the  works.  Stone  coal,  of  excellent  quality,  is  found  in 
Illinois,  near  the  mouth  of  Saline  river,  twenty-five  miles  above 
Eosiclare,  and  also  at  Tradewater,  in  Kentucky,  about  eighteen 
miles  above  the  lead  mines.  This  can  be  boated  down,  at  a  small 
expense,  from  either  place,  and  will  furnish  an  inexhaustible  fund 
of  fuel  for  running  the  necessary  machinery.  Another  important 
advantage  is  that  the  country  is  densely  wooded-,  and  an  abundant 
supply  of  the  finest  timber,  suitable  for  smelting  or  building  pur- 
poses, is  found  on  the  premises. 

In  conclusion  I  can  only  say,  that  I  would  advise  the  prosecution 
of  the  work,  provided  a  sufficient  amount  of  capital  can  be  invested 
to  insure  the  veins  being  worked  in  a  proper  manner.  If  this  can- 
not be  done,  they  had  better  be  abandoned  altogether.  Two  of  the 
present  shafts  can,  in  my  opinion,  now  be  worked  to  advantage ; 
that  is,  they  would  yield  a  constant  profit  to  the  owner,  if  the 
operations  were  conducted  judiciously  and  with  a  due  regard  to 
economy. 


There  are  various  other  points  in  this  county  where  lead  bearing 
veins  have  been  discovered,  though  their  value  has  not  yet  been 
proved.  Three  miles  northeast  of  Kosiclare,  at  the  base  of  the 
hills,  on  the  west  side  of  Big  creek,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  21,  township  12,  range  8,  fluor  spar  and  galena  have  been 
found  in  the  same  horizon,  and  a  shallow  pit  has  been  sunk  that 
is  known  as  the  Me  Allen  diggings.  In  the  rubbish  that  had  been 
thrown  out  we  found  calc.  spar,  white  and  violet  colored  fluor  spar, 
and  galena.  On  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  just  below  the  mouth  of 
Big  creek,  near  the  south  line  of  section  27,  several  veins  of  calc. 
spar  occur  in  the  limestone,  one  of  which  measures  three  feet  or 
more  in  thickness.  This  was  nearly  vertical,  and  had  been  drifted 
into  a  short  distance ;  but  no  other  minerals  appear  to  have  been 
found.  Outside  of  the  vein  some  particles  of  blue  fluor  spar  were 
seen. 

Six  miles  northeast  of  Elizabethtown  some  galena  occurs  at  the 
locality  known  as  the  Lead  Hill,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 4,  township  12,  range  9.  This  hill  is  capped  with  the  lower 
sandstone  of  the  Chester  series,  and  the  galena  occurs  about  60 
feet  below,  in  the  oolitic  beds  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone.  Numer- 
ous shallow  holes  have  been  sunk  on  the  western  slope  of  the  hill, 


HARBIN   COUNTY.  317 

some  of  which  were  carried  down  to  the  depth  of  30  or  40  feet. 
The  rubbish  thrown  out  consisted  of  partly  decomposed  limestone, 
fluor  spar  and  calc.  spar,  with  some  galena.  The  fluor  spar  at  this 
locality  is  white,  rose-colored  and  deep  violet,  and  is  frequently  met 
with  in  fine  cubes.  When  freshly  broken  it  has  a  bituminous  odor. 
The  diggings  which  were  made  about  the  year  1850  are  now  partially 
filled  by  the  caving  in  of  the  sides  and  the  wash  from  the  surface  ; 
but  enough  remains  to  show  that  there  were  irregular  openings  in 
the  limestone,  which  seem  to  have  had  &  general  direction.  Both 
the  fluor  spar,  and  the  galena  appear  to  have  been  more  sparingly 
developed  here  than  at  Eosiclare.  Without  a  systematic  excavation 
at  this  locality,  carried  to  a  considerable  depth,  no  definite  opinion 
could  be  formed  of  the  probable  value  of  this  mine. 

Further  east,  on  a  branch  of  the  east  fork,  are  the  Stickney  dig- 
gings, on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  7,  township  11,  range  8. 
A  considerable  quantity  of  white  and  violet  colored  fluor  spar,  with 
some  galena,  have  been  obtained  here,  but  the  prospect  seems  not 
to  have  been  sufficiently  promising  to  induce  a  continuance  of  the 
work.  No  regular  vein  appears  to  have  been  found  here,  but  the 
ore  and  associated  minerals  were  obtained  from  pockets  in  the 
limestone.  Several  holes  were  also  dug  on  Big  creek,  on  section 
20,  township  11,  range  8,  from  which  calc.  spar  was  obtained,  but 
no  galena.  On  the  high  sandstone  ridge  on  section  28,  township 
11,  range  9,  a  hole  was  sunk  to  a  considerable  depth  in  search  bf 
mineral,  but  none  was  found.  This  place  is  known  as  the  Moulton 
or  Mountain  diggings.  These  are  all  the  points  in  the  county,  that 
have  been  ascertained,  where  any  attempts  at  lead  mining  have 
been  made. 

Mineral  Springs. — There  are  several  chalybeate  springs  in  this 
county,  the  waters  of  which  are  charged  mainly  with  the  sulphate 
of  iron,  derived  from  the  decomposition  of  iron  pyrites  contained  in 
the  Chester  group  and  the  Conglomerate,  through  which  the  waters 
percolate.  One  of  these  is  on  Eock  creek,  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  29,  township  11,  range  9;  and  another  is  found  at  the 
foot  of  the  bluff  on  Saline  river,  about  a  mile  above  its  mouth.  No 
surface  indications  of  brine  springs  or  valuable  saline  deposits  have 
been  discovered  in  this  county;  and  the  Conglomerate  and  Chester 
group,  which  afford  the  saline  waters  of  the  adjoining  county,  are 
so  thoroughly  drained  here,  from  their  elevation  above  the  surface 
and  being  intersected  by  deep  ravines,  that  they  have  been  entirely 
exhausted  of  whatever  saline  properties  they  may  have  originally 


318  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

possessed.  All  the  stratified  rocks  of  this  State  were  originally  de- 
posited beneath  the  ocean,  and  may  still  retain  saline  matters  in 
small  quantities ;  but  it  is  only  where  the  conditions  were  such  as 
to  cause  the  precipitation  of  chloride  of  sodium,  in  considerable 
abundance,  during  the  accumulation  of  these  sediments,  and  their 
subsequent  retention  in  the  strata,  that  they  afford  valuable  deposits 
of  brine. 

Building  Materials. — This  county  abounds  in  building  materials  of 
excellent  quality.  The  St.  Louis  limestone  outcrops  over  a  consid- 
erable portion  of  its  area,  and  furnishes  an  excellent  building  stone, 
as  well  as  a  superior  limestone  for  the  manufacture  of  quick-lime. 
The  oolitic  beds  of  this  group  in  the  vicinity  of  Rosiclare,  and  else- 
where, may  be  easily  cut  into  any  desirable  form,  are  susceptible 
of  a  high  polish,  and  make  a  very  handsome  ornamental  stone.  At 
some  localities  this  rock  is  beautifully  veined  with  white  calcareous 
spar.  An  analysis  of  this  limestone  from  the  vicinity  of  Rosiclare, 
by  the  late  Mr.  HENRY  PRATTEN,  a  former  assistant  and  chemist  in 
this  Survey,  gave  the  following  result  in  per  cent.  : 

Carbonate  of  lime 90.86 

Carbonate  of  magnesia « 3.18 

Peroxyd  of  iron  and  alumina 1.06 

Insoluble  matter,  sand,  etc 2.72 

Moisture 0.15 

Loss...  .    2.03 


100.00 

In  other  portions  of  the  county  the  Chester  group,  in  alternating 
beds  of  limestone  and  sandstone,  is  exposed,  affording  an  abundant 
supply  of  material  for  foundation  walls ;  and  some  of  the  limestones 
make  a  very  good  quick-lime,  though  generally  inferior  to  that 
afforded  by  the  St.  Louis  limestone.  The  sandstones  of  this  group 
afford  excellent  building  stone  and  flag-stones,  and  have  also  sup- 
plied the  hearthstones  required  for  the  iron  furnaces.  A  rock,  suit- 
able for  this  purpose,  must  be  capable  of  withstanding  the  highest 
degree  of  heat,  and  also  great  changes  of  temperature,  without 
cracking — even  in  contact  with  melted  iron  and  scoria,  which  often 
shows  a  tendency  to  take  up  from  the  hearth  substances  with  which  it 
is  not  saturated  at  the  existing  high  temperature.  Some  beds  of 
the  lower  sandstone  of  the  Chester  group  have  been  found  well 
adapted  to  this  purpose.  They  consist  of  nearly  white  quartzose 
sand  cemented  with  a  siliceous  paste.  The  coarse  varieties  of  this 
sandstone  are  preferred  for  hearthstones,  because  they  withstand  best 
the  extreme  changes  of  temperature  to  which  they  are  necessarily 
subjected. 


HAEDIN   COUNTY.  319 

Loam  and  sand,  suitable  for  making  brick,  are  common  in  various 
portions  of  the  county. 

Agricultural  resources. — The  surface  of  this  county  is  generally 
roughly  broken,  especially  that  portion  of  it  underlaid  by  the  Ches- 
ter group  and  the  Conglomerate.  Along  the  Ohio  river,  where  the 
St.  Louis  limestone  is  the  prevailing  formation,  a  considerable  ex- 
tent of  surface  is  only  moderately  rolling,  with  a  rich  soil,  which 
was  originally  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  the  finest  timber, 
consisting  of  the  common  varieties  of  oak  and  hickory,  with  sugar 
maple,  elm,  linden,  black  walnut,  persimmon,  paw-paw,  mulberry, 
sassafras,  etc.  These  lands,  are  among  the  most  productive  in 
Southern  Illinois,  and  produce  excellent  crops  of  corn,  tobacco,  and 
all  the  cereals  usually  grown  in  Ajhis  latitute.  The  bottom  lands  on 
the  rivers  and  smaller  streams  are  also  very  productive,  and  produce 
several  varieties  of  timber  not  before  mentioned,  among  which  are 
the  sweet-gum,  white  ash,  horn  beam,  honey  locust,  soft  maple, 
slippery  elm,  sycamore,  cottonwood,  Spanish  and  water  oak,  white 
walnut,  etc.  In  the  northern  and  western  portions  of  the  county, 
where  the  formations  are  principally  arenaceous,  and  consist  of  the 
Chester  group  and  the  Conglomerate,  the  surface  is  very  broken, 
and  the  arable  land  is  restricted  to  the  tops  of  the  ridges,  and  the 
narrow  belts  of  bottom  land  along  the  streams.  But  all  these  broken 
lands  may  be  successfully  cultivated  in  fruit ;  the  peach  rarely  fails 
to  produce  a  full  crop  in  this  county,  and  many  varieties  of  the 
grape  might  be  successfully  cultivated.  These  lands  are  in  no 
respect  inferior  for  fruit-growing  to  the  best  fruit  lands  in  Union  and 
Jackson  counties,  and,  with  equal  market  facilities,  would  soon  be 
covered  with  orchards  and  vineyards. 


CHAPTER    XIY. 

\ 

JOHNSON  COUNTY. 

BY  HENRY  ENGELMANN. 

Johnson  county  is  bounded  by  Union  county  on  the  west,  by  Wil- 
liamson county  on  the  north,  by  Pope  county  on  the  east,  and  by 
Massac  and  Pulaski  counties  on  the  south.  It  embraces  a  little 
over  nine  townships,  or  about  335  square  miles  of  surface,  all  of 
which  is  finely  timbered.  The  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  of 
Cache  and  Bay  rivers,  tributaries  of  the  Ohio,  running  south,  and 
those  of  the  Big  Muddy  and  Saline  rivers,  running  northward, 
stretches  from  west  to  east  through  the  northern  portion  of  the 
county.  The  southern  part  of  the  county  is  lower,  but  mostly  still 
broken,  and  reaches  to  the  low  cypress  swamps  which  extend  from 
Bay  river  to  Cache  river,  or  I  should,  perhaps,  say  from  the  Ohio 
above  the  Black  bend  to  the  Mississippi,  across  the  south  end  of  the 
State.  The  geological  formations  are  restricted  to  the  superficial 
deposits  and  the  lower  part  of  the  coal  formation,  and  a  part  of 
the  lower  Carboniferous  limestone.  The  regular  Coal  Measures,  or 
principal  coal  bearing  strata,  do  not  extend  into  Johnson  county; 
but  we  have  at  several  points  outcrops  of  a  minor  coal  seam,  of 
variable  thickness,  in  connection  with  the  Conglomerate  sandstone, 
and  traces  of  coal,  not,  however,  of  any  practical  importance,  in 
lower  strata.  Other  valuable  minerals  have  not  been  discovered, 
nor  is  there  any  prospect  of  future  discoveries  of  that  kind.  The 
soil  is,  however,  of  a  superior  quality,  and  all  the  county  needs  is 
an  easier  communication  with  the  great  marts,  when  its  fine  agri- 
cultural resources  will  be  fairly  developed.  Wheat,  corn  and  tobacco 
have  been  the  great  staples  for  years  past.  Cotton  thrives  well,  but 
has  only  been  raised  for  home  consumption.  For  fruit  trees  of  all 
kinds  no  better  situations  could  well  be  found,  and  especially  for 
grape  culture,  the  prospects  appear  to  be  flattering. 


JOHNSON   COUNTY.  321 


Surface  Configuration. 

The  surface  configuration  of  Johnson  county  depends  upon  its 
geological  formations.  The  rocks  consist  of  alternations  of  softer 
and  harder  bodies  of  sandstones,  limestones  and  shales,  which  have 
been  heaved  up,  and  exhibit  a  general  dip  to  the  northward.  This, 
in  connection  with  the  small  elevation  of  the  southern  part,  and 
the  high  elevation  of  the  dividing  ridge  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county,  causes  this  district  to  be  rather  broken.  We  frequently  find 
high  and  rocky  escarpments  facing  towards  the  south,  and  capped 
by  one  of  the  harder  ledges.  Then,  continuing  northward,  we 
descend  over  a  more  or  less  gradual  slope,  which  conforms  to  the 
dip  of  the  strata,  until  we  reach  the  base  of  a  second  declivity, 
formed  by  a  series  of  higher  strata  which  overlap  the  first  ones. 
From  this  summit  we  descend  again  northward,  and  we  find  it  thus 
repeated  several  times.  This  regularity  is  modified  considerably  by 
the  course  of  the  streams  and  their  eroding  action.  They  intersect 
the  formation  in  various  directions,  continue  for  considerable  dis- 
tances parallel  to  the  trend  of  the  strata,  along  the  same  ledges, 
then  turn  abrubtly  and  break  through  them.  A  careful  observer, 
however,  cannot  fail  to  recognize  this  feature.  One  of  the  most 
prominent  examples  of  it  is  presented  by  the  main  dividing  ridge 
in  the  north  part  of  the  county,  the  highest  summit  of  which  coin- 
cides with  the  southern  limit  of  the  Conglomerate  sandstone.  It 
falls  off  abruptly  to  the  south,  and  slopes  down  gradually  northward. 
In  the  district  occupied  by  the  Conglomerate,  which  comprises  the 
whole  county  north  of  the  dividing  ridge  or  bluffs,  as  its  southern 
declivity  is  frequently  called,  and  extends  thence  more  or  less  south, 
along  the  upper  course  of  the  creeks,  so  that  it  embraces  four- 
ninths  of  the  whole  county,  the  country  is  very  roughly  broken, 
the  creeks  run  through  rocky  chasms,  and  have  seldom  any  arable 
bottom  lands.  The  hill  sides  are  steep  and  rocky,  and  frequently 
exhibit  prominent  cliffs ;  but  the  ridges  are  mostly  rather  level,  and 
of  sufficient  width  to  make  fine  farms,  so  that  this  district  includes 
some  very  fine  settlements,  and  a  good  growth  of  white  oak,  black 
oak,  hickory,  etc.,  with  a  warm,  sandy  soil. 

South  of  this  the  formations  consist  of  alternations  of  sandstones, 

limestones   and   shales.      The    two    latter  disintegrate  more  readily 

than    the    sandstones,  and   the   hills   are,  therefore,  generally  more 

sloping,  outcrops  of  rocks   are  wider  apart,  the  creeks  form  wider 

—21 


322  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

bottoms,  the  ridges  more  rolling,  but  there  are  also  many  roughly 
broken  portions,  and  bold  and  rugged  cliffs.  The  soil  of  this  region 
is  similar  to  that  of  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  especially 
where  sandstones  prevail.  At  other  points  the  limestones  and  shales 
have  naturally  added  to  it  by  their  disintegration,  and  a  change  of 
the  soil  can  be  recognized  by  a  somewhat  changed  growth  of  timber, 
especially  by  the  presence  of  the  yellow  poplar  (Liriodendron  tidip- 
iferum).  In  the  lower  part  of  the  county,  towards  the  edge  of  the 
swamp  lands,  the  soil  is  of  surprising  fertility,  and  withal  warm 
and  easily  tilled.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  county,  especially  on 
Cache  and  Bay  rivers,  there  is  so  little  fall  that  the  bottoms  are 
frequently  overflowed,  or  perpetually  wet.  These  bottoms  and 
adjoining  stretches  of  low  land  assume  the  character  of  cypress 
swamps. 

Geological   Formation. 

I  have  stated  above  that  the  rocks  of  Johnson  county  all  belong 
to  the  lower  division  of  the  great  Carboniferous  formation,  which 
underlies  the  upper  division  or  regular  Coal  Measures. 

The  strata  dip  towards  the  north,  trending  from  east  to  west. 
The  dip  is  not  quite  uniform ;  for  miles  it  appears  to  be  slight,  then 
all  of  a  sudden  it  is  sometimes  very  strong,  and  changes  again  close 
by;  but  these  are  only  local  irregularities.  In  passing  over  the 
county  from  north  to  south,  we  therefore  advance  successively  from 
the  lower  to  the  higher  or  more  recent  deposits. 

The  formations  in  Johnson  county  are  the  following,  in  descending 
order : 

1.  The    Conglomerate,    consisting  of  quartzose   micaceous    sand- 
stones, with  some  intercalations  of   shales,    several  hundred  feet  in 
thickness. 

2.  The  Chester  group,  which  is  largely  developed,  and  consists  of 
ten  principal  divisions,  composed  mainly  of   limestones,  shales   and 
sandstones.     The  aggregate  thickness  of   this  formation   amounts  to 
about  1,000  feet. 

3.  The  St.  Louis  group,  consisting  of  various  limestones,  part  of 
which  are  oolitic.     It  is  not  exposed  to  a  greater  thickness  than  120 
feet,  but  it  apparently  continues  downward,  and  its  aggregate  thick- 
ness is  much  greater. 

The  St.  Louis  Group. — This  group  occupies  only  a  small  area  in 
the  southwestern  corner  of  the  county,  forming  the  base  of  the  hills 
along  the  Cache  river  flats,  from  the  west  line  of  the  county  to  the 


JOHNSON   COUNTY.  323 

east  end  of  the  Indian  Point  bluffs.  It  cannot  everywhere  be  readily 
distinguished  from  the  very  lowest  Chester  strata.  Near  the  Union 
county  line,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  31,  township  13, 
range.  3,  at  the  edge  of  the  Cache  river  and  Cypress  creek  bottom 
flats,  I  observed  several  outcrops  of  this  limestone,  as  well  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills  as  higher  up,  partly  in  connection  with  sink-holes. 
The  rock  is  mostly  gray,  partly  crystalline  and  siliceous,  partly  close 
textured,  sub-crystalline,  and  sub-conchoidal  or  splintery  in  fracture, 
partly  oolitic.  The  highest  sub-conchoidal  ledges  appear  to  be  very 
pure,  and  would  probably  make  superior  quick-lime,  and  a  fine 
building  material.  Traces  of  fossils  are  numerous,  but  no  well  pre- 
served specimens  could  be  obtained  here.  On  the  summit  of  the 
hill  the  limestone  is  directly  overlaid  with  several  feet  of  quartzose 
.sandstone,  which  is  thinly  but  not  evenly  stratified.  In  the  north- 
west quarter  of  the  same  section  31,  in  a  ravine,  I  observed  some 
sandstone  which,  although  it  appears  to  be  in  place,  is  probably  a 
large  tumbling  mass,  and  higher  up  some  pieces  of  limestone,  and 
tdwards  the  summit  of  the  hill  some  argillaceous  shales  were  noticed, 
but  the  whole  is  little  exposed.  The  sandstone  is  either  the  sand- 
stone No.  8  (in  which  case  the  lowest  divisions  of  the  Chester  forma- 
tion appear  to  be  wanting  here),  or  else  it  represents  the  lowest 
Chester  division,  No.  10,  and  the  above  shales,  perhaps  No.  9.  In 
the  northwest  part  of  section  31,  I  found  numerous  sink-holes,  which 
unmistakably  indicate  the  presence  of  limestones.  The  hills  there 
fall  off  gradually  to  the  northward,  according  to  the  general  rule 
which  I  have  before  explained. 

Continuing  eastward  along  the  hills,  we  find  more  outcrops  of  the 
St.  Louis  limestone,  and  overlying  sandstone.  The  most  prominent 
one  is  the  Cedar  bluff,  so  called  on  account  of  some  cedar  trees 
growing  on  its  top,  in  the  south  part  of  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  5,  township  14,  range  2.  The  slope  at  the  base  of  this  bluff 
reaches  not  more  than  twenty  feet  above  the  low  bottom  of  Cypress 
creek,  then  the  limestone  rises  in  a  vertical  cliff  95  feet  high,  and 
is  capped  by  8  or  10  feet  of  sandstone,  the  same  wh'ich  formed  the 
summit  of  the  before  mentioned  hills.  The  limestones  are  mostly 
of  light  grayish  color,  hard,  siliceous,  and  close-textured.  Some  of 
the  uppermost  ledges  are  sub-crystalline,  sub-conchoidal  in  fracture, 
and  apparently  siliceous  and  very  hard.  Some  of  the  lower  strata 
are  white,  oolitic,  soft,  can  be  easily  dressed,  and  might  readily  be 
burned  into  lime. 

East  of  this,  for  some  miles,  the  country  is  low,  with  only  a  few 
protruding  ledges  of  the  limestone.  The  nearest  ones  are  found  in 


324  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

two  outcrops  near  the  centre  of  the  south  half  of  section  4,  near 
Mr.  Jackson  Axley's ;  also,  at  the  edge  of  the  flat.  They  are  about 
25  feet  high,  and  the  rock  is  partly  oolitic,  and  makes  good  lime. 
Then,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  2,  the  limestone  is  found 
tumbling  at  the  edge  of  the  flat,  but  must  be  in  situ  in  the  low 
adjoining  hill,  and  more  is  found  near  the  middle  of  the  south  half 
of  section  2. 

The  low,  undulating  land  north  of  the  cedar  bluff,  in  the  south- 
west part  of  section  29,  north  part  of  section  32,  south  part  of 
section  33,  and  farther  on,  is  evidently  also  underlaid  with  limestone, 
but  I  am  not  fully  satisfied  whether  this  is  throughout  the  St.  Louis 
limestone  or  partly  the  lowest  strata  of  the  Chester  group.  Close 
to  the  west  line  of  Johnson  county,  where  it  is  crossed  by  the  Don- 
gola  and  Metropolis  road,  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  30, 
township  13,  range  2,  I  have  observed  limestones  and  shales,  forming 
division  No.  9  of  the  Chester  series,  underneath  the  sandstone  No.  8. 
This  sandstone  can  be  traced  thence  eastward,  by  Gray's  mill,  to 
Indian  Point.  There  I  observed,  again,  Nos.  9  and  10  of  the  Chester 
series ;  but  I  am  not  fully  satisfied  whether  they  are  developed  con- 
tinuously between  these  points,  or  whether  at  some  places  the  sand- 
stone No.  8  rests  directly  upon  the  St.  Louis  limestone.  The  upper 
part  of  the  high  hills  in  the  west  and  southeast  part  of  section  29, 
and  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  28,  township  13,  range  2, 
is  formed  of  this  sandstone ;  but  in  the  ravines  at  the  southern  foot 
of  these  hills  a  few  pieces  of  limestone  are  found,  and  their  base  is 
probably  formed  of  No.  9  of  the  Chester  series. 

Considerable  outcrops  of  rocks  were  observed,  in  the  continuation 
of  the  same  range  of  hills,  near  Gray's  mill,  near  the  middle  of  the 
north  half  of  section  2,  township  14,  range  2,  and  thence  on  towards 
Cache  river,  in  the  north  part  of  section  1.  The  sandstone  No.  8 
caps  these  hills ;  but  limestones,  interstratified  perhaps  with  other 
strata,  reach  high  up  towards  the  summit.  The  base  of  these  hills 
consists  of  St.  Louis  limestone,  which  is  mostly  light  gray,  close- 
textured,  and  splintery  or  crystalline,  but  the  upper  part  below  the 
sandstone  contains  the  lowest  Chester  divisions.  Northward  these 
strata  dip  rapidly  underground,  but  continuing  eastward  across 
Cache  river  bottom,  we  find  them  again,  at  the  Indian  point,  a 
precipitous  cliff,  which  extends  from  Cache  river,  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  5,  township  14,  range  3,  eastward  along  the  edge 
of  the  swamps.  Where  it  is  highest,  in  the  south  part  of  section 
33,  township  13,  range  3,  only  a  short  distance  north  of  the  Massac 
county  line,  I  obtained  a  section  of  the  formation,  partly  by  meas- 


JOHNSON   COUNTY.  325 

urement,  partly  by  a  close  estimate.  It  shows  40  feet  of  sandstone, 
the  eighth  division  of  the  Chester  formation;  54  feet  of  Archimedes 
limestone  and  shale,  No.  9  of  the  Chester  series ;  12  feet  of  sand- 
stone, No.  10  of  the  Chester  series ;  and  10  feet  exposed  and  34  feet 
concealed  of  St.  Louis  limestone. 

Section  of  the  strata  at  Indian  Point,  in  Johnson  county,  in  the  south- 
east quarter  of  southwest  quarter  of  section  33,  township  13,  range  3. 

1.  Cliff  of  sandstone,  forming  the  highest  summit  of  the  bluff;  white  quartzose,  of 
middle  grain,  partly  quite  friable  inside,  partly  tolerable  hard,  of  the  sandstone 
No.  8  of  the  Chester  group;  estimated  at 40  feet 

2  Steep  slope,  the  upper  portion  of  which  is  covered  with  heavy  tumbling  masses 
of  sand-rock.  It  is  underlaid  altogether  or  in  part  with  shales,  alternating 
with  seams  of  limestone,  some  of  which  is  highly  siliceous  and  full  of  Archi- 
medes, pentremites,  etc.  It  is  the  lowest  limestone  division  of  the  Chester 
group;  estimatedat t...54  " 

3.  A  heavy  ledge  of  a  finely  grained  hard  sand-rock,  unlike  the  upper  sand- rock, 

and  apparently  an  irregular  deposit  of  impure  material.    It  is  the  very  lowest 
(tenth)  division  of  the  Chester  series , 12  " 

4.  Limestone;  gray,  siliceous,  close-textured  or  crystalline;  of  the  St.  Louis  lime- 

stone formation 10   " 

5.  Slope  to  the  edge  of  Cypress  pond,  undoubtedly  underlaid  with  more  limestones 

of  the  St.  Louis  group 34   " 

A  mile  further  east,  on  the  county  line,  in  the  middle  of  the  south 
line  of  section  34,  another  section  of  the  strata  was  obtained  by 
measurement.  It  still  shows  the  sandstone  No.  8  forming  the  sum- 
mit, then  62  feet  of  the  ninth  division  of  the  Chester  group,  and  12 
feet  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  which  continues  downward.-  The 
tenth  Chester  division  is  not  represented. 

From  this  point  eastward  the  bluffs  continue  high  and  mostly 
rocky,  round  the  northeastern  extremity  of  the  swamp.  I  observed 
much  of  the  close-textured  St.  Louis  limestone,  and  other  ledges  of 
the  same  formation,  which  were  full  of  fossils  and  so  coarsely  crys- 
talline that  they  possessed  little  firmness ;  but  I  noticed  only  traces 
of  an  oolitic  structure.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  south  of  the  Johnson 
county  line,  and  half  a  mile  from  the  last  one,  in  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  3,  township  14,  range  3,  I  measured  the  following 
section : 

1.  Slope  to  the  summit  of  the  hill,  underlaid  with  sandstone 10  feet 

2.  Cliff  of  sandstone— No.  8 15   " 

3.  Limestone 2   " 

4.  Shales 10   " 

5.  Limestone,  with  Archimedes,  pentremites,  etc 4%  " 

6.  Slope,  apparently  underlaid  with  shales 6   " 

7.  Cliff  of  limestone 18   " 

8.  Steep  slope  to  a  terrace,  formed  by  a  ledge  of  rock,  which  is,  however,  not  ex- 

posed   35   " 

9.  Slope  to  the  level  of  the  bottom  flat 40   " 


326  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Nos.  1  and  2  are  the  sandstone  No.  8;  Nos.  3  and  6  correspond, 
undoubtedly,  to  No.  9  of  the  Chester  group,  which  probably  includes, 
also,  No.  8  of  this  section.  Of  this  I  am,  however,  not  certain. 

Section  of  the  strata  taken  on  the  Johnson  and  Massac  county  line,  near 
the  middle  of  the  south  line  of  section  84,  township  13,  range  3. 

1.  High  slope  to  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  strewn  and  evidently  underlaid  with 

sandstones;  the  sandstone  No.  8  of  the  Chester  group (?) 

2.  Sandstone  in  thin,  irregular  ledges 6  feet 

3.  Gentle  slope,  strewn  with  sandstone,  probably  underlaid  with  shaly  rocks  of  the 

ninth  Chester  division 20   ' ' 

4.  Slope,  underlaid  with  argillaceous  shales  and  some  seams  or  Archimedes  lime- 

stone  14    " 

5.  A  ledge  of  highly  fossiliferous  Archimedes  limestone 1   " 

6.  Alternations  of  argillaceous  shales   and   siliceous  crystalline  limestone,  the 

former  prevailing.    Probably  still  a  member  of  the  ninth  division  of  the  Ches- 
ter series 27   " 

7.  Limestone  of  gray  color,  sub-conchoidal  fracture,  close  textured,  between  finely 

granular  and  splintery  in  texture;  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone  formation 12  " 

8.  Slope  to  the  edge  of  the  Cypress  flat;  no  exposures,  but  undoubtedly  underlaid 

with  limestones  of  the  St.  Louis  formation 20   " 

The  only  other  point  where  some  limestone  was  observed  under- 
neath the  sandstone  No.  8  is  north  of  Indian  Point,  at  the  edge  of 
the  Cache  river  bottom,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  33, 
township  13,  range  3.  It  must  correspond  to  No.  9  of  the  Chester 
series,  and  can  not  well  be  St.  Louis  limestone. 

The  Chester  Group. — I  have  stated  above  that  the  Chester  group 
is  largely  developed  in  Johnson  county,  and  may  be  divided  into 
ten  principal  divisions,  each  one  composed  mainly  of  limestone  and 
shales,  or  of  sandstone  and  shales :  and  its  aggregate  thickness 
amounts  to  about  1,000  feet.  It  occupies  the  whole  southern  half 
of  the  county,  with  the  exception  of  the  small  area  occupied  by  the 
St.  Louis  group,  and  extends  into  the  northern  half,  especially  on 
the  west  side  of  the  county.  The  general  trend  of  the  strata  is  very 
little  south  of  east,  and  the  dip  to  the  northward,  and  not  quite 
uniform.  It  is  slight  at  many  points,  but  at  others  locally  quite 
strong. 

The  Lower  Chester  strata. — In  the  remarks  on  the  St.  Louis  lime- 
stone, I  have  already  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  eighth  division 
of  the  Chester  formation,  because  it  caps  many  of  the  hills  at  the 
base  of  which  that  limestone  has  been  observed.  I  have  also  men- 
tioned, in  the  same  connection,  all  the  outcrops  of  limestone,  shales 
and  sandstone  which  form  the  two  lowest  divisions,  Nos.  9  and  10 
of  the  Chester  group,  in  the  hills  extending  from  the  Union  county 
line  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  30,  township  13,  range  2, 


JOHNSON   COUNTY.  327 

to  the  Massac  county  line,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  section 
34,  township  13,  range  3.  We  have,  then,  seen  that  the  thickness 
of  the  Chester  sandstone  No.  10,  at  the  only  point  where  it  was 
undoubtedly  and  well  exposed,  amounted  only  to  10  feet;  that  that 
of  the  Chester  limestone  and  shales  No.  8  reached  some  60  feet,  and 
we  left  it  undecided  whether  the  sandstone  on  top  of  the  hills  in 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  county,  in  section  36,  township  13,  range 
2,  and  at  the  Cedar  bluff,  in  section  5,  township  14,  range  2,  was 
the  sandstone  No.  10  or  No.  8  of  the  Chester  series. 

The  sandstone  No.  8  caps  the  hills  on  the  Union  county  line  near 
the  southwest  corner  of  section  19,  township  13,  range  2,  and  its 
southern  outcrops  can  easily  be  traced  by  the  high  hills  in  the 
middle  of  the  west  half  of  section  29,  southwest  quarter  of  section 
28,  and  so  on,  to  those  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  35 ; 
thence  through  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  2  and  west  part  of 
section  1,  township  14,  range  2,  to  Cache  river;  and  beyond  that 
stream,  by  Indian  Point,  from  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  5, 
township  14,  range  3,  through  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  32, 
township  13,  range  3,  south  of  section  33,  and  south  of  section  34. 
Thence  eastward  it  underlies  the  uplands  along  the  Massac  county 
line  to  George's  creek,  dipping  under  ground  on  that  creek  near  the 
southeast  corner  of  section  33,  township  13,  range  4.  On  Cypress 
creek  this  rock  was  observed  to  dip  underground  half  a  mile  west 
of  the  west  line  of  Johnson  county,  at  the  south  line  of  section  7, 
township  13,  range  2.  Its  uppermost  ledges  descend  underneath  the 
water  level  of  Cache  river,  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  23, 
and  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  24,  township  13,  range  2, 
north  of  the  bridge  on  the  road  from  Gray's  mill  to  Vienna,  in  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  19,  township  13,  range  3,  and  farther 
east  near  the  mouth  of  Cave  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 28.  In  consequence  of  an  irregularity  of  the  dip,  the  formation 
extends  up  Cave  creek  to  near  the  middle  of  the  west  side  of  section 
23,  and  up  Clifty  creek  to  above  the  crossing  of  the  road  from  Vienna 
to  Columbia,  into  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 25,  township  13,  range  2,  and  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  north- 
west quarter  of  the  adjoining  section  30,  township  13,  range  4;  but 
on  the  intermediate  upland  the  higher  formations  reach  farther  south. 

This  sandstone  is  quartzose,  rather  finely-grained  and  whitish,  but 
on  the  exposed  surface  it  is  mostly  gray  or  light-brownish.  It  mostly 
shows  a  massive  structure,  and  is  rather  soft  when  freshly  quarried, 
but  hardens  in  the  course  of  time.  Some  of  it  is  thinly  and  evenly 
stratified,  and  forms  fine  slabs  and  thin,  brown,  highly  cemented 


328  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

ledges.     Its   thickness   in  Johnson   county  must   reach  at   least  150 
feet,  perhaps  more. 

Some  of  the  most  conspicuous  outcrops  of  this  sandstone,  between 
its  southern  and  northern  limits,  were  observed  along  a  slough  of 
Cache  river,  on  the  north  side  of  which,  near  the  southeast  corner 
of  section  20,  township  13,  range  2,  it  forms  a  prominent  cliff,  and 
continues  northeastward,  nearly  without  interruption,  for  two  miles. 
Near  the  centre  of  section  21  it  reaches  from  the  water's  edge  to  a 
height  of  60  feet,  and  at  its  extreme,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  22,  it  is  still  25  or  30  feet  high.  It 
forms  lesser  bluffs  on  the  opposite  side  of  this  slough  in  the  west 
part  of  section  22,  and  on  another  branch  of  it  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  section  26  and  the  northwest  corner  of  section  25. 

On  Cache  river  itself,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  1,  town- 
ship 14,  range  2,  it  begins  100  feet  above  the  water  level,  and  is 
exposed  to  a  thickness  of  20  feet.  Near  the  middle  of  the  east  line 
of  section  36,  township  13,  range  2,  it  appears  to  reach  to  the  water's 
edge.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  Dutchman  creek  it 
is  prominently  exposed  on  the  river  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 30,  township  13,  range  3,  and  continues  northward  to  the  sharp 
bend  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  19,  where  the  beds  of  transi- 
tion between  it  and  the  next  higher  division  of  the  Chester  group 
form  the  bank  of  the  stream.  On  the  east  side  of  the  Cache  river 
bottom  I  noticed  it  in  some  low  bluffs  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  28.  On  Clifty  creek  I  noticed,  also,  numerous  rugged  out- 
crops of  this  sandstone. 

The  Higher  Divisions  of  the  Chester  Group. — Although  I  have  been 
able  to  trace  the  succession  of  the  different  divisions  of  the  Chester 
group,  with  great  precision,  in  some  parts  of  the  county,  I  have  not 
succeeded  in  doing  so  with  sufficient  accuracy  at  other  points,  owing 
to  the  scarcity  of  outcrops,  the  similarity  of  the  lithological  charac- 
ter of  the  different  divisions,  and  the  limited  time  which  I  would 
have  been  justified  to  spend  upon  this  subject.  I  will  describe  them, 
therefore,  more  with  a  view  to  their  geographical  than  geological 
succession,  which  are,  however,  closely  connected. 

The  limestone  No.  7  is  well  exposed  on  Cache  river,  at  the  sharp 
bend  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  19,  township  13,  range  3, 
156  feet  thick,  and  extends  thence  east  and  westward.  It  consists. 
of  mostly  gray,  siliceous,  crystalline,  a  close-textured,  partly  magne- 
sian  limestone,  inter-stratified  with  shales.  At  the  last  named  point 
they  present  the  following  section : 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  329 


Section*  of  the  Chester  strata  next  above  the  Sandstone  No.  8,  m.  John- 
son county,  on  Cache  river,  the  north  part  of  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  19,  township  13,  range  3  east. 

1.  Short  slope  to  the  summit  of  the  hill,  underlaid  with  soil,  and  probably  some 

sandstone 20     feet 

2.  Quartzose  sandstone,  belonging  to  the  Chester  group  No.  6 5         " 

3.  Limestone,  with  some  partings  of  shale  in  the  lower  part,    The  rock  is  all  of 

gray  color,  compact,  hard,  mostly  semi-crystalline;  some  of  it  is  crystal- 
line. It  is  all  more  or  less  siliceous.  The  highest  layers  of  the  7th  division 
of  the  Chester  series 44  " 

4.  Argillaceous  shales,  probably  with  some  thin  seams  of  limestone 29        " 

5.  Limestone,  dark  gray,  semi- crystalline  and  siliceous,  with  some  shale  part- 

ings   7%      " 

6.  Steep  slope,  the  upper  portion  underlaid  with  shales,  the  lower  apparently 

with  alternations  of  shales  and  limestones : 24 

7.  A  bed  of  hard,  gray,  siliceous,  more  or  less  crystalline  limestone 5         " 

8.  Slope,  covered  with  fragments  of  limestone.    Probably  the  upper  portion  is 

underlaid  with  alternating  layers  of  shales  and  limestones,  the  lower 
entirely  with  shales 40  " 

9.  Gray  argillaceous  shales  5        " 

10.  A  bed  of  semi-crystalline  limestone,  with  Archimedes,  corals  and   other 

fossils,  inclosing  numerous  flint  pebbles,  the  lowest  layer  of  the  7tk  Chester 
division 1  %  " 

11.  Arenaceous  shales,  with  shells  of  hard,  finely-grained  sand-rock,  forming 

the  beds  of  passage  to  sandstone  No.  8 7        " 

12.  Bed  of  Cache  river. 

The  total  height  of  the  bluff  is  187  feet  10  inches.  The  same 
strata  continue  to  form  the  bluffs  on  the  northeast  side  of  Cache 
river,  to  near  the  bridge  in  south  part  of  section  10,  township  13, 
range  2,  and  a  short  distance  above  that  bridge  on  the  south  side; 
also  the  hill  southwest  of  the  bridge,  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
section  15,  which  is  capped  by  the  same  sandstone,  No.  6.  Then 
these  strata  appear  to  dip  suddenly  under  ground  to  the  northward, 
for  north  of  the  bridge,  near  the  centre  of  section  10,  the  same 
sandstone,  No.  6,  forms  a  low  bluff  at  the  edge  of  the  creek  bottom, 
and  nothing  more  of  it  was  discovered  higher  up  Cache  creek.  Over  a 
mile  further  northwest,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  4,  we 
find  some  ledges  of  apparently  the  next  higher  limestone,  No.  5,  of 
the  Chester  series,  in  the  bank  of  the  Cache  river,  and  the  sand- 
stone No.  4  higher  up  in  the  hills.  A  short  distance  farther  north, 
this  sandstone  has  dipped  down  to  the  water's  edge,  and  forms  a 
long  bluff  along  the  stream  in  the  west  part  of  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  4,  reaching,  in  places,  a  vertical  height  of  30  feet.  It  is 

*  All  the  vertical  sections  in  this  volume  are  given  in  their  natural,  or  descending  order. 

A.  H.  W. 


330  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

thus  exposed  at  several  points  near  the  bridge  and  mill,  in  the  north 
part  of  section  4,  and,  rising  rapidly,  caps  the  sharp  hills  in  the 
west  part  of  section  4,  and  the  ridge  west  from  there,  in  sections  5 
and  6,  north  part  of  section  8,  and  farther  north.  It  also  crops  out 
at  the  next  bridge,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  33,  township  12,  range  2,  not  far  above  the  water's  edge, 
and  at  numerous  points  along  the  branch  in  the  south  part  of  sec- 
tion 32,  and  up  to  the  southeast  corner  of  section  31,  near  its  head, 
partly  forming  fine  even  ledges,  well  adapted  for  building  purposes, 
partly  hard,  thinly  stratified  and  ripple-marked.  Of  its  thickness  we 
cannot  say  more  than  that  it  is  not,  in  any  single  place,  exposed  over 
40  feet,  but  probably  considerably  greater  in  the  aggregate.  Under- 
neath this  sandstone,  No.  4,  I  noticed,  at  numerous  points,  the 
limestone  No.  5.  They  may  be  seen  a  few  feet  thick  at  the  base  of 
the  hills  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  bottom,  near  the  northwest 
corner  of  section  4.  Near  the  middle  of  the  west  line  of  section  4 
they  reach  to  a  height  of  fifty  feet  above  the  bottom,  and  still  far- 
ther south,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  8,  and  in  the  south 
and  west  parts  of  section  6,  they  reach  nearly  to  the  highest  sum- 
mit of  the  ridge,  as  may  be  recognized  from  numerous  sink-holes. 
They,  too,  are  partly  crystalline,  partly  close-textured,  and  mostly 
of  impure  grayish  colors.  The  sandstone  No.  4  was  further  observed 
on  another  branch  farther  north,  on  the  road  from  Vienna  to  Anna, 
in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  30  (?),  township  12,  range  2; 
but  the  country  about  there,  and  east  from  there,  is  mostly  rolling, 
with  very  few  outcrops  of  rocks  of  any  kind. 

In  the  north  part  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  28,  the  higher 
limestones,  No.  3  of  the  Chester  series,  were  first  noticed  at  the  foot 
of  the  gently  sloping  hills,  near  the  edge  of  the  Cache  bottom.  The 
same  were  also  observed  at  the  edge  of  the  bottom  near  the  north- 
west corner  of  section  28,  and  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
21.  They  underlie  the  hills  over  most  of  section  28,  and  in  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  27,  and  form  the  lower  part  of  the 
higher  ridge  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  27.  They,  too,  are 
partly  crystalline,  but  mostly  semi-crystalline  and  close-textured. 
They  are  the  same  formation  which  had  been  observed  in  Union 
county,  in  the  bed  of  Cache  river,  close  to  the  Johnson  county  line, 
and  which,  a  little  farther  northwest,  reached  to  a  height  of  at  least 
30  feet,  capped  by  cliffs  of  the  sandstone  No.  2.  In  the  northwest 
part  of  section  20  this  sandstone  apparently  forms  the  foot  of  the 
hills,  but  with  it  I  also  noticed  tumbling  slabs  of  a  slaty  limestone, 
which  crops  out  in  turn  in  the  low  hills  in  the  south  part  of  section 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  331 

17,  inter- stratified  with  shales,  and  capped  by  more  sandstone.  This 
last  limestone  is  partly  blue  and  compact,  brittle,  sub-conchoidal  or 
uneven  in  fracture,  partly  slaty.  It  appears  to  be  a  local  forma- 
tion, which  I  have  noticed  farther  east  and  west,  but  nowhere  as 
prominently  developed  as  here.  I  have,  however,  not  distinguished 
it  as  a  separate  division  of  the  Chester  series.  In  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  17  the  sandstone  No.  2  crops  out  in  the  bed  of 
Lick  creek  and  on  the  west  side  of  that  creek,  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  7,  this  sandstone  forms  conspicuous  cliffs,  as  well 
at  the  foot  of  the  hills  as  toward  their  summit,  showing  an  interca- 
lation of  the  blue,  slaty  limestone  which  we  find  once  more  on  Lick 
creek,  close  to  the  county  line.  Through  sections  6  and  5  the  upper 
part  of  the  sandstone  No.  2  forms  numerous  outcrops  along  the  low  hills 
on  the  south  side  of  the  creek,  while  the  next  higher  limestones 
form  the  hills  on  the  north  side,  capped  on  their  highest  summits 
by  the  Conglomerate. 

A  section  of  this  highest  division  of  the  Chester  series  was 
obtained  at  the  edge  of  the  Lick  creek  bottom,  near  the  big  bend 
of  the  creek,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  4,  township  12, 
range  2.  It  is  mostly  composed  of  compact,  siliceous,  partly  flinty 
limestones,  of  impure  grayish  color,  varying  between  close  textured 
and  crystalline,  and  of  shales. 

Section  of  the  highest  Chester  strata  capped  by  the  Conglomerate,  in  the 
northwest  part  of  Johnson  county,  near  the  bend  of  Lick  creek,  in  the 
southeast  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  4,  township  12, 
range  2. 

1.  Gentle  slope  to  the  summit,  apparently  underlaid  with  sandstone  of  the  Con- 

glomerate, about 50  feet 

2.  Slope,  strewed  with  sandstone,  and  apparently  underlaid  with  it 25     " 

3.  Slope,  heavily  strewn  with  sand-rock  and  some  limestone,  apparently  underlaid 

with  limestones,  and  perhaps  shales  of  the  Chester  group 15     " 

4.  Limestones,  siliceous,  in  heavy  outcrops,  forming  precipitous  bluffs  around  the 

hill 21     " 

5.  Slope,  without  outcrops,  strewn  with  limestone  and  sandstone.     It  is  appar- 

ently underlaid  with  shales  and  limestones,  the  former  probably  predomin- 
ating  24      " 

6.  Limestone,  hard,  siliceous,  forming  a  prominent  ledge 8     " 

7.  Gentle  slope,  apparently  underlaid  with  shales,  and  perhaps  some  limestones. 12     " 

8.  Limestones,  outcropping  in  rugged  ledges.     The  rock  is  mostly  very  hard, 

brittle,  siliceous,  uncrystalline,  with  conchoidal  fracture 30     " 

<J.    Slope,  with  some  outcropping  ledges  of  limestone,  perhaps  altogether  under- 
laid with  limestones,  perhaps  with  an  alternation  of  limestones  and  slates 22 

10.  Limestones,  hard  and  siliceous 12     " 

11.  Slope,  strewn  and  probably  underlaid  with  limestones 6 

12.  From  the  foot  of  the  hill  to  the  bed  of  Lick  creek,  covered  with  soil,  about 12 


332  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  total  altitude  of  the  hill  is  about  237  feet.  Of  these,  144  feet 
are  undoubtedly  the  upper  Chester  limestone.  The  sandstone  No.  2 
of  the  Chester  series  reaches  at  this  point  probably  just  to  the 
water  level  of  Lick  creek.  In  this  case  we  have  to  add  18  feet  to 
the  thickness  of  the  limestone  division,  which  would  make  its  aggre- 
gate thickness  162  feet. 

This  formation  continues  northward,  variously  exposed.  I  observed 
it,  especially,  again,  in  the  hills  north  of  Lick  creek,  in  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  5,  and  on  Clifty  branch,  in  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  32,  township  11,  range  2,  and  in  the  south  part 
of  section  29,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  lofty  dividing  ridge,  the 
so-called  "bluffs,"  which  are  capped  by  the  Conglomerate. 

Eeturning  to  the  mouth  of  Dutchman  creek,  we  find  there,  in  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  30,  and  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  28,  township  13,  range  3,  the  upper  strata  of  the  sandstone 
No.  8.  Farther  north,  the  bluffs  in  the  east  part  of  section  19,  in 
section  20,  in  the  north  part  of  section  28,  and  in  section  21,  are 
composed  of  the  next  higher  Chester  divisions,  the  limestone  No.  7, 
and  the  sandstone  No.  6.  Near  the  mouth  of  Cave  creek,  near  the 
middle  of  the  north  half  of  section  28,  the  limestone  No.  7  is  exposed 
to  a  thickness  of  considerably  over  100  feet,  capped  by  only  a  few 
feet  of  sandstone,  and  it  continues  about  two  miles  up  Cave  creek 
on  the  north  side.  On  the  eastern  bend  of  Dutchman  creek,  in  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  21,  the  limestone  No.  7  appears  to  pass 
underground,  soon  followed  by  the  sandstone  No.  6,  and  a  short 
distance  farther  north,  on  the  northeastern  part  of  the  bend,  in  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  16,  the  limestone  No.  5  forms  the  bluff 
on  the  northeast  side  of  the  creek,  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  4. 
The  limestones  and  shales  No.  5  are  here  at  least  68  feet  thick,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  section  which  has  been  measured  here : 

Section  of  strata  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  divisions  of  the  Chester  formation, 
on  Dutchman  creek,  in  Johnson  county,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 16,  township  13,  range  3. 

1.  Cliffs  of  sandstone,  to  the  summit  of  the  hill.    The  rock  is  whitish,  quartzose, 

of  a  middling  fine  grain.    No.  4  of  the  Chester  series 28     feet 

2.  Steep  slope,  apparently  underlaid  with  sandstone.which,  near  by.  can  be  seen 

immediately  to  overlie  the  limestone 8 

3.  Cliffs  of  compact  siliceous  limestone  No.  5  of  the  Chester  series 14^      " 

4.  Slope,  strewn  with  limestones,  and  apparently  underlaid  with  limestones, 

probably  with  some  shales.    At  the  base  of  a  ledge  of  limestone 28         " 

5.  Steep  slope,  strewn  with  limestones  and  sandstones.   It  is  probably  underlaid 

with  limestone  at  the  upper  end,  and  principally  with  shales  and  slates 
lower  down,  which  still  belong  to  No.  5  of  the  Chester  series 25 


JOHNSON   COUNTY.  333 

6.  Slope,  apparently  with  a  solid  ledge  at  its  upper  end,  perhaps  partly  underlaid 

with  the  Chester  sandstone.   No.  6  of  the  Chester  series 20      feet 

7.  Level  of  the  bottom  lands 

Continuing  up  stream  southward,  round  the  bend,  we  soon  find 
on  the  south  side  of  the  stream  the  lower  sandstones  rising  in  the 
bluffs,  and  below  them  the  lower  Chester  limestones  No.  7.  Near 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  bend,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 16,  the  lower  50  feet,  from  the  water  up,  are  strewn  with  the 
limestone  and  sandstone,  evidently  underlaid  with  the  former.  The 
23  feet  following  are  apparently  underlaid  with  the  sandstone,  which 
then  forms  a  prominent  cliff  20  feet  high.  North  from  there,  on  the 
next  bend,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  16,  this  sandstone, 
No.  6,  has  dipped  much  lower  down,  is  prominently  exposed  25  feet 
above  the  water  level,  and  probably  reaches  down  to  it.  It  partly 
forms  fine  smooth  ledges  of  convenient  thickness  for  building  pur- 
poses, is  soft  when  newly  quarried,  and  hardens  on  exposure. 

This  sandstone,  No.  6,  continues  up  the  stream  at  the  base  of 
the  hills  on  the  southwest  side  of  Dutchman  creek,  through  section 
17,  and  into  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  18.  We  find  it,  for 
example,  at  the  bridge  two  miles  south  of  Vienna,  while  further 
south  and  southwest,  on  Cache  river,  it  capped  the  bluffs.  Here 
the  upper  part  of  the  hills  is  formed  by  the  limestone  division  No. 
5,  which  has  here  a  thickness  of  some  68  feet,  and  is  capped  by 
the  sandstone  No.  4. 

The  following  section  of  the  strata,  taken  near  the  bend  in  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  18,  township  13,  range  2,  shows  that 
part  of  the  sandstone  No.  6,  which  is  there  exposed  to  a  thickness  of 
72  feet,  is  shaly,  and  that  it  contains  a  thin  streak  of  coal  near  its 
upper  end,  a  few  feet  below  the  higher  limestone.  It  also  shows 
that  the  limestone  division  No.  5  contains  a  considerable  thickness 
of  shales,  which  accounts  for  the  few  exposures  which  were  observed 
of  it,  and  that  the  sandstone  No.  4  immediately  rests  upon  solid 
ledges  of  the  limestone  No.  5,  without  intervening  beds  of  passage, 
as  we  have  observed  already,  two  miles  further  east : 

Section  from  the  middle  of  the  Chester  formation  in  Johnson  county, 
taken  on  Dutchman  creek,  two  miles  below  Vienna,  in  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  18,  township  13,  range  3  east. 

\.    Slope  of  considerable  height  to  the  top  of  the  hills,  apparently  underlaid  with 

sandstone.  No.  4  of  the  Chester  series 2  feet 

2.  Sandstone,  the  4th  division  of  the  Chester  formation 20   " 

3.  Limestone,  the  5th  division  of  the  Chester  formation 5   " 

4.  Slope,  strewn  with  sandstones  from  the  ledge  No.  2,  but  partly  underlaid  with 

shales,  partly  with  limestones ...45   •' 


334  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

5.  Chester  limestone,  mostly  gray  and  coarsely  crystalline;  some  of  it  semi-crys- 

talline and  compact 8  feet 

6.  Argillaceous  shales  with  shells  of  limestone  at  the  base  a  ledge  of  limestone, 

the  lowest  stratum  of  the  fifth  Chester  division 10  " 

7.  Sandstone,  arenaceous  slate,  and  shaly,  arenaceous  ledges.    The  highest  of  the 

sixth  division  of  the  Chester  series 8   " 

8.  Coal,  a  thin  streak. 

9.  Sandstone,  with  shaly  partings,  overlaid  with  arenaceous  slate  and  shaly  ledges,  25   " 

10.  Shaly  sandstone  and  arenaceous  shale i 14   " 

11.  Sandstone,  white,  quartzose.  rather  finely  grained,  in  thin  even  slabs,  No.  6  of  the 

Chester  series.    It  may  reach  lower  under  ground 25   " 

12.-  Level  of  bottom  lands. 

I  will  state  that  no  section  could  be  obtained  by  one  continuous 
measurement,  but  that  the  one  presented  was  compiled  from  two 
measurements,  taken  a  few  rods  apart. 

Continuing  northward  up   the   creek,  the   upper   shaly  portion   of 
the  sandstone  No.  6  and  the  limestone  No.  5  prevail.     Outcrops  are 
therefore  few  and  far  apart.     A  short  distance  above  the   mouth  of 
Town  creek,  on  the  east  side  of  the  latter  stream,  in  the  north  part 
of  the  southwest  quarter   of  section  8,  township    13,  range  3,  I  no- 
.ticed  an  outcrop  of  some  limestone  belonging   to   this  fifth   division 
at  the  foot  of  the  bluffs,  and  the  sandstone  No.  4  higher  up.     The 
latter  reaches  to  the  water  level  in   the  north   part  of  the    section, 
round  the  bend  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  8,  and  forms  the 
banks  of  the  creek  at  Vienna,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  5, 
or  in  the  west  part  of  section  4,  to  a  height   of   10   feet,  consisting 
there  of  thinly  but  mostly  unevenly   stratified,  partly  ripple-marked 
sandstone  of   a  brown  color.      The   low  hill   on  which   the   town  is 
situated  contains  some  shales  and  limestone   above   the   sandstone, 
which  forms  part  of  the  third  division  of   the   Chester   series.      On 
the  main  Dutchman  creek    the   limestone    No.  5   crops   out   at    the 
western  edge  of  the  bottom  only  at  a  spring   in   the   center  of    the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  7,  and  at  a  cave  a  little  farther  south. 
It  is  capped  there   also   by  the  sandstones  No.  4.      Apparently  the 
same  formations  were  observed  on  the  upland,  a   mile  farther  west, 
in  the   northwest   quarter   of  section  12  (?),  township  13,  range  2; 
but  I  could  not  trace  their  limits  farther   up   the    creek,  where  the 
hills  are  gently  sloping.    Only  near  the  Vienna  and  Jonesboro  road,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  creek,  I  noticed  some  of  the  sandstone  at  the  foot 
of  the  hills,  near  the  middle  of  the  east  line  of  section  35,  township 
12,  range  2.    Farther  north,  then,  follows   a  few  outcrops    of   lime- 
stone, forming  the  third  division  of  the  Chester  series,  in  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  38  and  in  the  south  part  of  section  25,  and 
also  on  the  low  upland  in  the  west  part  of  section  31,  township  12, 
range  3.    In  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  25,  township  12,  range 
2,  a  few  feet  of  these  limestones  are  exposed  at  the  water's  edge,  and 


JOHNSON   COUNTY.  335 

a  few  feet  higher  sandstones  crop  out — No.  2  of  the  Chester  series. 
These,  then,  form  the  hills  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  25, 
and  form  low  bluffs  near  the  creek  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 30,  and  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  30,  township  12, 
range  3,  and  appear  to  continue  near  the  water's  edge  to  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  19.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  low  bluff,  in 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  30,  I  observed  some  limestones  of 
the  Chester  formation  in  the  lower  part  of  the  hill.  They  are  not 
prominently  exposed,  compact,  siliceous,  partly  close-textured,  partly 
coarsely  crystalline.  I  am  somewhat  doubtful  whether  this  corres- 
ponds to  the  intercalated  slaty  calcareous  layers  on  Lick  ereek,  or 
whether  it  is  a  part  of  the  highest  Chester  limestone  No.  1,  which 
is  not  impossible  on  account  of  the  disturbed  stratification  in  this 
part  of  the  county.  The  higher  hills  in  section  19  are  mostly  formed 
of  this  limestone  formation,  and  capped  by  Conglomerate.  Near 
the  southwest  corner  of  section  17  this  limestone  reaches  undoubt- 
edly to  the  water's  edge,  and  extends  up  the  creek  for  several  miles 
to  the  south  line  of  section  1,  township  12,  range  2,  and  farther 
west  up  Grasshopper  branch  to  the  northwest  corner  of  section  11, 
or  even  farther.  It  attains  a  very  considerable  thickness,  at  least 
of  150  feet,  perhaps  much  more,  and  forms  numerous  precipitous 
cliffs.  It  is  similar  in  appearance  to  the  same  formation  on  Lick 
creek,  and  also  contains  numerous  seams  of  very  brittle  brown  or 
blue  flint.  A  section  was  obtained  near  the  center  of  section  18, 
township  12,  range  3.  The  bluff  is  there  269  feet  high,  from  the 
bed  of  the  creek;  its  lower  part,  to  a  height  of  at  least  144  feet, 
consists  mainly  of  alternations  of  limestones  and  shales,  the  upper- 
most and  Chester  limestone ;  and  the  upper  part  consists  of  Con- 
glomerate, which  is  at  least  68  feet  thick.  The  57  intervening  feet 
may  be  underlaid  with  either  of  these  formations,  or  by  both  in 
part. 

It  forms  the  following  section : 

1.  Slope  to  the  summit,  underlaid  with  the  Conglomerate 57  feet. 

2.  Cliff  of  sandstone  (Conglomerate) 8    " 

3.  Slope,  with  tumbling  sandstone,  underlaid  probably  with  limestone  and  shales, 

perhaps  with  sandstone 57    " 

4.  Slope,  with  heavy  masses  of  tumbling  limestone,  apparently  underlaid  with 

limestones  and  shales 40    " 

5.  Limestone,  exceedingly  siliceous,  with  seams  of  dark,  brittle  flint.    The  rock  is 

blue  or  gray,  very  hard,  close-textured,  andsub-conchoidal  in  its  fracture — 22    " 

6.  Steep  slope,  apparently  underlaid  with  shales,  and  perhaps  limestones;  ends 

on  a  ledge  of  limestone 20    " 

7.  Slope,  apparently  underlaid  with  shales 20    " 

8.  Limestone,  forming  a  prominent  cliff.    The  rock  is  partly  dark  bluish-gray, 

close-textured,  partly  lighter  gray,  and  more  or  less  crystalline 18    " 


336  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

9.  Heavy  outcrops  of  similar  limestone,  apparently  alternating  with  shales,  down 
.to  the  creek.  This  is  supposed  to  be  near  the  base  of  the  upper,  division  of 
the  Chester  series 24  feet. 

From  the  south  line  of  section  1,  township  12,  range  2,  upward, 
Dutchman  creek  runs  entirely  through  the  Conglomerate,  either  in 
consequence  of  the  Chester  strata  passing  rapidly  underground  to  the 
northward,  or  perhaps  because  the  Conglomerate  may  at  this  point 
fill  a  basin  eroded  in  the  Chester  formation.  This  sandstone,  as  I 
have  stated  before,  caps  the  ridge  south  of  Grasshopper  branch, 
in  section  10,  south  part  of  sections  11  and  12,  township  12,  range 
2,  and  farther  on,  and  extends  as  far  south  as  the  northeast  part  of 
section  24  and  the  northwest  part  of  the  adjoining  section  19,  town- 
ship 12,  range  3;  but  the  sandstones  on  the  summit  of  the  steep 
hills  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  27,  township  12,  range  2, 
and  farther  northwest  and  east,  are  the  highest  sandstone  division 
of  the  Chester  series  No.  2.  They  contain,  in  their  lower  part,  a 
faint  streak  of  stone  coal,  such  as  we  have  seen  before  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  sandstone  No.  6. 

Near  the  southeast  corner  of  section  14,  I  noticed,  in  a  branch, 
thinly  stratified  ripple-marked  sandstones,  and  a  few  feet  higher  some 
limestones,  shales,  and  blue,  highly  calcareous  slate.  This  limestone 
undoubtedly  belongs  to  the  first  division  of  the  Chester  series,  but  I 
am  not  satisfied  whether  the  sandstone  forms  the  top  of  the  second 
division  or  is  a  local  intercalation  in  the  first  limestone  division. 

On  Town  creek,  just  below  Vienna,  we  have  found  the  sandstone 
No.  4  of  the  Chester  series,  and  above  it,  underlying  the  town, 
limestones  of  the  third  division.  While  the  sandstones  are  exposed 
at  various  points  southeast  of  town,  these  same  limestones  form  a 
bluff  on  the  bend  of  Town  creek,  a  mile  and  a  quarter  above  Vienna, 
in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  3,  township  13,  range  3.  They 
were  also  observed  half  a  mile  farther  south,  and  especially  on  the 
branch  near  Scott's  mill,  in  the  middle  and  north  part  of  section  3, 
and  appear  to  extend  up  that  branch  through  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  2,  and  through  section  35,  township  12,  range  3,  to  its 
northeast  corner.  A  short  distance  farther  up  the  main  creek,  in 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  34,  sandstone  forms  a  bluff,  on  the 
bank,  with  an  aggregate  thickness  of  at  least  30  or  40  feet.  To  all 
appearance,  it  overlies  the  limestone,  and  is  the  lowest  of  the  second 
Chester  division.  It  also  caps  the  ridge  east  of  the  creek,  in  the 
north  part  of  section  3,  in  section  34,  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 35,  section  26,  and  east  part  of  section  27,  and  we  find  it  again 
on  the  Town  creek  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  27,  and  at  the 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  337 

ford  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  22.  At  this  latter  point,  the 
upper  ledges  of  this  formation  are  exposed,  consisting  of  some  hard, 
ripple-marked,  thinly  stratified  sandstones,  gray,  argillaceous  shales, 
and  some  shaly  sandstones.  Overlying  this  sandstone,  follows  the 
first  limestone  division  of  the  Chester  series,  which  reaches  on  the 
creek  from  the  ford  to  near  the  north  line  of  section  21,  when  it  is 
succeeded  by  the  Conglomerate  sandstones.  It  is  not  much  exposed 
on  the  creek,  but  can  well  be  traced.  It  also  underlies  the  slopes 
west  of  the  creek,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  21,  and  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  28,  but  is  more  conspicuous  on  the  east 
side  of  the  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  23,  where  it  is 
again  characterized  by  the  seams  of  dark  colored  brittle  flint,  and 
extends  thence  eastward,  at  the  base  of  the  high  sandstone  ridge 
through  the  east  part  of  section  22,  the  southeast  corner  of  section 
15,  sections  23  and  24,  to  Mack  creek,  in  section  19,  'township  12, 
range  4. 

The  country  north  of  Vienna,  between  Town  creek  and  Dutchman 
creek,  is  rolling,  with  low  hills,  and  shows  various  outcrops  of  lime- 
stone «,t  low  points  in  the  north  part  of  section  32,  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  29,  etc.  The  higher  hills  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  28,  and  the  north  part  of  section  29,  appear  to  be  capped 
with  sandstones;  and  in  section  21  we  reach  the  Conglomerate.  In 
this  vicinity,  the  uppermost  Chester  strata  change  their  trend  from 
southeast  to  east,  and  the  outcrops  are  too  few  to  trace  the  single 
sub-divisions  with  accuracy.  They  may,  possibly,  not  be  all  developed 
at  this  point. 

We  have  seen  that  east  of  Cache  river,  the  limestone  No.  7, 
capped  by  the  sandstones  No.  6,  form  the  hills  on  the  north  side  of 
Cave  creek,  from  its  mouth  to  the  meeting  house  in  the  north  part 
of  section  23,  township  13,  range  3.  There  the  limestones  dip  under 
ground,  and  the  sandstones  No.  6  continue  up  the.  creek  to  the 
Vienna  and  Metropolis  road,  in  the  south  part  of  section  14,  where 
they  are  themselves  capped  by  limestones  belonging  to  the  fifth  divi- 
sion of  the  Chester  series,  while  the  top  of  the  ridge  to  the  north- 
ward consists  of  sandstones  No.  4.  The  formations,  Nos.  4,  5  and 
6,  continue  in  the  same  relative  position  eastward  along  the  old 
Metropolis  road.  The  limestone  No.  5  was  there  observed  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  section  13,  and  Nos.  4  and  6  above  and  below 
it.  Prominent  outcrops  of  No.  5  were  also  noticed  near  the  crossing 
of  a  branch  of  Johnson's  creek,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
19,  township  13,  range  4,  overlaid  by  the  sandstone  No.  4,  while  the 
—22 


338  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

bed  of  the  branch  consists  of  sandstones  belonging  to  No.  6.     They 
extend  to  Bay  river,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  county. 

The  limestones  and  shales  of  the  seventh  division  are  exposed  east 
of  Cave  creek,  in  the  breaks  of  Clifty  creek,  in  the  north  part  of  sec- 
tion 25,  township  13,  range  3,  and  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
30,  township  13,  range  4,  above  the  crossing  of  the  Vienna  and 
Metropolis  road,  while  the  sandstones  of  the  sixth  division  cap  the 
ridge  to  northward  to  a  considerable  thickness.  Both  were  also 
observed  on  and  near  George's  creek,  from  the  Massac  county  line 
upwards.  The  highest  strata  of  the  sandstone  No.  8,  as  we  have 
stated  before,  crop  out  in  the  bed  of  that  creek,  close  to  the  county 
line,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  34  and  the  southeast  corner 
of  section  35,  township  13,  range  4,  and  rise  southward,  and  then 
form  the  bluffs  at  the  edge  of  the  swamps.  Farther  up  the  creek, 
V, which  here  has  a  strong  fall,  the  limestone  formation  No.  7  crops  out  in 
ihe  banks  in  the  southwest  quarter  and  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 34,  and  underlies  the  slope  of  the  precipitous  ridge  in  the  south 
part  of  section  33.  This  ridge  is  capped  by  40  or  50  feet  of  the 
sandstone  No.  6,  which,  likewise  dipping  northward,  forms  the  banks 
of  the  creek  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  34,  southwest  quarter 
of  section  27  and  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  28.  Near  the 
centre  of  section  28  it  is  succeeded  by  the  overlying  limestones  and 
shales  of  the  fifth  division  of  the  Chester  series,  which  is,  however, 
only  very  sparingly  exposed.  This  formation  underlies  the  southern 
slope  of  the  ridge  north  of  George's  creek,  in  the  east  part  of  section 
28,  and  extends  at  the  same  altitude  farther  southeast  through  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  27,  and  so  on,  into  section  35,  overlaid 
by  the  sandstone  formation  No.  4,  which  forms  the  summit  of  this 
whole  ridge.  At  the  point  where  the  county  line  strikes  the  Bay 
river  swamps,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  section  35,  the  limestone 
division  No.  7.  forms  the  base  of  the  hills,  and  continues  in  this 
position  to  Bay  river,  in  the  north  part  of  section  36,  although  it  is 
little  exposed. 

On  Bay  river,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  county,  the  seventh 
Chester  division,  the  next  one  above  sandstone  No.  8,  forms  the 
base  of  the  hills  west  of  the  stream.  Thence  upward  there  is  a  wide 
bottom  between  the  river  and  hills,  and  only  sandstones  are  exposed 
for  some  distance  in  the  upper  part  of  the  hills,  which  are  very 
high.  These  sandstones  are  No.  6,  and  at  the  highest  points  prob- 
ably No.  4.  The  strata  appear  to  be  nearly  horizontal.  Near  the 
south  line  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  23  I  observed  some  of 
these  limestones  in  the  low  hills,  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  6 ; 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  339 

and  more  of  both  formations  was  seen  farther  northwest,  especially 
in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  22,  on  a  branch  slough,  and 
farther  west  at  the  edge  of  the  principal  bottom  north  of  the  centre 
of  section  22.  Near  the  south  line  of  section  15,  on  the  west  side 
of  the  section,  where  Johnson  creek  enters  the  Bay  bottom,  I  found 
about  25  feet  of  the  limestone  formation  exposed,  capped  by  about 
70  feet  of  the  sandstones  No.  6.  These  reach  the  water's  edge  at 
the  bend  of  Bay  river,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  15,  and 
form  the  bed  of  the  stream  at  the  bridge  in  the  northwest  corner 
of  section  15 ;  but  then  they,  too,  dip  underground  and  are  suc- 
ceeded by  the  limestones  No.  5.  They  are  much  more  prominently 
.exposed  on  the  east  side  of  Bay  river,  from  near  the  centre  of  sec- 
tion 14,  southeastward.  Near  the  southeast  corner  of  section  14 
they  form  bold  cliffs,  from  near  the  water's  level  to  an  altitude  of 
fully  100  feet,  and  they  cap  the  hills  on  the  Pope  county  line  in  the 
east  part  of  section  24,  probably  underlaid,  at  the  edge  of  the  Bay 
bottom,  with  the  formation  No.  7. 

The  limestone  of  the  fifth  division  of  the  Chester  series  crops  out 
on  Bay  river,  north  of  the  crossing  of  the  lower  Vienna  and  Gol- 
conda  road,  on  the  west  side  of  the  stream,  near  the  south  line  of 
section  10,  and  on  the  east  side  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
11,  and  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  11,  township  13,  range 
4,  and  it  extends  apparently  a  short  distance  farther  north,  near 
the  water's  edge,  concealed  by  the  detritus  and  soil.  I  also  noticed 
it  at  the  northwest  edge  of  the  Cypress  pond,  east  of  Bay  river,  near 
the  middle  of  the  north  line  of  section  11.  Wherever  I  saw  it  ex- 
posed, I  found  it  overlaid  with  the  sandstone  No.  4.  These  extend 
northward  along  Bay  river  to  the  ford  near  the  centre  of  section  3, 
forming  numerous  rocky  bluffs.  I  noticed  them  especially  on  a 
branch  not  far  from  the  edge  of  the  Bay  bottom,  on  the  Columbia 
and  Eeynoldsburg  road,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  5,  where 
they  are  capped  by  the  limestone  No.  3,  and  lower  down  on  the 
same  branch  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  4 ;  also,  on  a  rocky 
ravine  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  4,  and  thence  eastward  to 
the  river  and  at  the  edge  of  the  bottom  in  the  south  part  of  section 
3,  and  all  through  section  10.  They  are  at  no  one  point  exposed 
to  a  greater  thickness  than  40  feet,  but  their  aggregate  thickness 
must  be  fully  double  that  much.  Some  of  this  rock  is  finely-grained, 
of  a  pleasing  yellowish- white  color,  forms  heavy  ledges,  can  be  easily 
dressed,  and  is  sufficiently  firm ;  so  that  it  forms  a  superior  material 
for  stone-cutters'  work.  Blocks  of  any  desired  size  might  be  obtained. 
East  of  Bay  river,  besides  the  points  already  mentioned,  I  observed 


340  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

it  in  the  lower  half  of  the  hills  north  of  Cypress  pond,  in  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  2,  where  it  is  capped  by  the  limestone  No.  3, 
and  the  sandstone  No.  2,  and  on  the  Pope  county  line  in  the  hills 
along  the  east  line  of  section  12.  . 

Proceeding  northward,  we  enter  the  district  of  the  limestones  form- 
ing the  third  division  of  the  Chester  series.  They  form  the  hills  to 
both  sides  of  the  Bay  creek  bottom,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 3  and  north  part  of  section  5,  township  12,  range  4,  and  on  the 
southwest  part  of  section  32,  and  in  most  of  section  33  and  section 
34,  township  12,  range  4,  extending  on  the  Big  Bay  to  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  35,  and  on  its  tributary,  Cedar  creek,  to 
within  a  short  distance  below  the  mouth  of  Mack  creek  to  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  27,  overlaid  near  their  northern  edge  by  the 
sandstones  No.  2.  They  were  observed,  also,  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  precipitous  southern  slope  of  the  high  ridge  in  the  south  part  of 
section  2,  and  in  the  hills  on  the  Pope  county  line,  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  1,  township  13,  range  4. 

The  second  division  of  the  Chester  series,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
consists  mainly  of  sandstones,  is  largely  developed  in  this  portion 
of  Johnson  county.  On  Bay  river  it  extends  from  the  northwest 
corner  of  section  35  to  the  point  where  this  stream  first  enters  the 
county  on  the  east  line  of  section  2  J ,  forming  the  bed  of  the  creek  at 
the  bridge  just  across  the  line  in  Pope  county,  east  of  the  centre  of 
section  24.  Thence  southward,  gradually  ascending,  it  underlies  the 
uplands  in  sections  25,  26,  36,  35  and  farther  to  the  south  of  the 
centre  of  sections  1  and  2,  township  13,  range  4.  It  crowns  the 
bluffs  in  the  forks  between  Bay  and  Cedar  creeks,  and  is  conspicu- 
ously exposed  along  a  ravine  on  the  east  side  of  section  27.  It  forms 
the  bed  of  Mack  creek,  a  short  distance  above  its  junction  with 
Cedar  creek,  near  the  east  line  of  section  28,  reaches  northward 
along  Cedar  creek  to  near  the  south  line  of  section  15,  and  west- 
ward up  Mack  creek  far  into  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  19. 
It  forms  within  these  lirnits  many  prominent  cliffs  on  the  north  side 
of  Mack  creek,  and  extends  south  of  the  creek  to  the  centre  of  sec- 
tion 32,  and  farther  eastward.  This  sandstone  formation  consists 
of  alternating  harder  and  more  yielding  ledges  of  well  cemented 
sandstones  and  shaly  sandstones  or  arenaceous  shales.  The  sand- 
stones are  partly  ripple-marked,  and  most  of  them  rather  irregularly 
stratified.  Many  of  them  are  brown,  and  contain  marks  of  Lepido- 
dendron  and  of  many  other  plants.  Near  the  base  of  this  forma- 
tion a  thin  streak  of  coal  was  discovered  by  Mr.  H.  P.  Sharp,  in 
digging  a  well  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  29,  township  12, 


JOHNSON   COUNTY.  341 

range  4.  It  will  be  remembered  that  a  similar  streak  was  found  at 
the  base  of  the  same  formation,  east  of  Cache  river,  in  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  27,  township  12,  range  2.  There  is  no  pros- 
pect that  it  might  anywhere  attain  a  sufficient  thickness  to  be  of 
importance  as  fuel.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  sandstone  formation 
some  blue  slaty  limestones  were  observed  on  the  east  side  of  Mack 
creek,  at  the  crossing  of  the  old  Vienna  and  Golconda  road,  in 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  19,  which  resembles  the  develop- 
ment of  these  rocks  on  Lick  creek,  near  the  west  line  of  the  county. 
The  aggregate  thickness  of  this  sandstone  formation  is  over  120  feet, 
as  may  be  seen  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  27,  and  probably 
about  150  feet. 

The  Chester  limestone  No.  1  is  exposed  on  Mack  creek  first,  near 
the  middle  of  the  east  half  of  section  19,  township  12,  range  4,  and 
extends  northward  towards  the  center  of  section  18.  where  the  over- 
lying sandstone  reaches  the  water  level.  It  is  siliceous,  partly  close- 
textured,  from  uneven  to  conchoidal  in  fracture,  partly  crystalline, 
of  bluish  and  grayish  colors.  Contains  the  same  seams  of  brittle 
flint  which  have  been  observed  in  this  formation  further  west, 
alternates  with  shales  and  rises  considerably  to  the  southward,  so 
that,  although  the  outcrops  along  the  banks  of  the  creek  extend  a 
little  over  a  mile,  they  attain  a  thickness  of  more  than  100  feet. 
East  of  Mack  creek  it  occupies  the  upland  from  the  summit  of  the 
sandstone  bluffs  in  the  south  part  of  sections  20  and  21,  to  the  foot  of 
the  higher  ridge  of  Conglomerate,  the  extreme  southern  point  of  which 
is  on  the  west  part  of  the  south  line  of  section  17.  On  Cedar  creek 
this  first  Chester  division  extends  from  near  the  south  line  of 
section  15  through  sections  15  and  10  into  3  and  2.  The  last  points 
where  it  is  exposed  are  near  the  schoolhouse,  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  3,  and  on  the  branch  not  far  from  the  center  of 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  2.  Then  the  Conglomerate  follows, 
which  reaches  in  the  hills  east  of  Cedar  creek  as  far  south  as  the 
high  summit  near  the  middle  of  the  east  half  of  section  23.  The 
slope  underneath  it  is  there  formed  of  the  limestone  No.  1,  which 
crosses  the  Pope  county  line  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  24 
and  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  13,  township  12,  range  4. 

On  Johnson  creek,  where  it  enters  Bay  river  bottom,  in  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  15,  and  in  the  north  part  of  section  22, 
township  13,  range  4,  we  find  the  upper  ledges  of  the  limestones 
No.  7,  overlaid  with  sandstones  of  the  sixth  division,  as  I  have 
stated  above.  These  limestones  extend  up  the  creek  to  near  the 


342  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

crossing  of  the  Marion  and  Metropolis  road,  near  the  middle  of  the 
south  half  of  section  16,  and  up  the  southern  branch  into  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  17.  The  sandstones  No.  6  extend  farther  up 
the  branch  through  section  17,  and  on  the  main  creek  several  miles. 
In  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  8,  their  highest  ledges  only  form 
the  bed  of  the  creek,  while  the  overlying  limestones,  No.  5,  crop 
out  in  the  low  bluffs  north  of  the  creek,  capped  by  the  sandstone 
No.  4;  but  on  the  west  s'ide  of  section  8,  and  in  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  7,  they  are  more  conspicuously  developed.  In  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  7,  township  13,  range  4,  and  through 
the  north  part  of  section  12,  and  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section 
11,  township  13,  range  3,  they  are  again  mainly  confined  to  the 
bank  of  the  creek.  These  sandstones,  No.  6,  include  in  their  upper 
ledges  some  feet  of  argillaceous  shales,  and  a  thin  seam  of  coal,  of 
which  we  have  found  indications  farther  west,  on  Dutchman  creek, 
southeast  of  Vienna,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  18,  township 
13,  range  2.  This  stone  coal  was  observed  on  Johnson  creek,  in  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  12,  in  the  bed  of  the  creek,  underlaid 
with  a  little  slate,  and  then  with  dark  argillaceous  shales,  and  cov- 
ered with  soil.  It  is  there  6  inches  thick  and  quite  impure.  Many 
persons  have  supposed  that  where  this  coal  had  a  solid  roof  i 
might  be  thicker,  perhaps  sufficiently  so  to  be  worked,  but  I  am 
fully  satisfied,  by  a  careful  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances,  that 
such  hopes  will  not  be  realized.  The  same  coal  seam  was  observed 
in  the  bank  of  the  creek,  a  mile  farther  east,  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  7,  where  it  consists  of  three  inches  of  very  impure 
coal,  intercalated  in  dark  colored  clay  shales,  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  overlying  limestone  No.  5.  Near  Mr.  Dednam's,  a  mile  and  a 
half  farther  southeast,  near  the  center  of  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  17,  it  has  again  been  noticed,  higher  up  in  the  hills,  on  a 
ravine  of  the  south  fork.  I  saw  the  sandstones  and  overlying  lime- 
stones, but  the  coal  was  not  exposed  at  the  time.  Its  thickness 
there  is  variously  stated  at  between  1  and  8  inches. 

The  next  higher  limestone  division,  No.  5  of  the  Chester  series, 
is  first  exposed  in  the  bluffs  of  the  creek  near  the  west  line  of 
section  9,  south  part,  thence  northwest  through  section  8 ;  -also  in 
the  south  part  of  section  5,  mostly  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  4. 
It  underlies  the  low  rolling  uplands  in  the  south  part  of  section  6, 
and  in  the  south  part  of  the  adjoining  section  1,  township  13,  range 
3,  and  was  observed  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  11.  The 
limestone  at  the  branch  south  of  the  creek,  near  the  center  of  the 


JOHNSON   COUNTY.  343 

southwest  quarter  of  section  12,  is  also  supposed  to  belong  to  this 
formation,  which  must  underlie  part  of  the  slopes  on  the  south  side 
of  Johnson  creek,  in  this  vicinity,  although  it  is  nowhere  else 
exposed.  It  further  caps  the  hills  near  Mr.  Dednam's,  in  section  17. 
The  sandstones  on  the  higher  ridges,  both  north  and  south  of  John- 
son creek,  belong  to  the  fourth  division  of  the  Chester  series.  This 
and  the  third  limestone  division  are  not  so  prominently  exposed, 
and  cannot  be  traced  in  detail  farther  north,  but  I  have  already 
stated  that  the  sandstone  No.  2,  and  the  limestone  No.  1,  form 
conspicuous  bands  of  outcrops  between  Town  creek  and  Mack  creek. 
From  the  foregoing  enumeration  and  description  of  the  principal 
outcrops  of  the  Chester  formation  in  Johnson  county,  we  may  deduce 
the  following  numbers  as  representing,  approximately,  the  thickness 
of  the  different  divisions  of  the  Chester  series  in  this  county : 

1st  division— limestone,  etc 144  to  170  feet 

2d    division— sandstones,  etc 120  to  150 

3d    division— limestone,  etc 60 

4th  division— sandstones,  etc 50  to    80 

5th  division— limestones,  etc 68 

<>th  division— sandstones,  etc 72  to  100 

7th  division — 1  imestones,  etc 156 

8th  division— sandstone 150  to  250 

9th  division — limestones,  etc , 62 

10th  division— sandstone 12 

The  aggregrate  thickness  of  this  formation  would  be,  accordingly, 
from  894  to  1,108  feet. 

Conglomerate. — This  formation  occupies  the  northern  part  to  John- 
son county.  On  the  Union  county  line  it  extends  south  of  the 
vicinity  of  Lick  creek ;  is  then  intersected  by  the  valley  of  Clifty 
branch,  along  which  the  Chester  formation  crops  out ;  occupies  the 
summit  of  the  ridge  southeast  from  there,  terminating  in  the  northeast 
part  of  section  24,  township  12,  range  2 ;  is  then  intersected  by  the 
valleys  of  Dutchman  creek  and  Grasshopper  branch ;  crosses  Dutch- 
man creek  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  1,  township  12,  range 
2 ;  extends  again  southeastward  on  its  east  side ;  crosses  Town  creek 
in  the  north  part  of  section  21,  township  12,  range  3;  forms  the 
summit  of  the  high,  precipitous  ridge,  which  extends  thence  east- 
ward ;  crosses  Mack  creek  south  of  the  centre  of  section  19,  township 
12,  range  4,  and  Cedar  creek  near  the  middle  of  the  east  line  of 
section  3,  township  12,  range  4 ;  then  extends  southward  again  on 
its  east  side,  terminating  in  the  high  knob  in  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  23,  and  strikes  the  Pope  county  line  on  the  east  side  of 
section  13. 


344  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

It  consists  mainly  of  quartzose,  micaceous,  seldom  conglomerate, 
mostly  whitish,  and  only  slightly  cemented  sandstones  of  great  thick- 
ness, with  intercalations  of  shales,  and  forms  two  principal  divisions, 
separated  by  a  seam  of  stone-coal,  the  lowest  one  in  the  geological 
series  of  our  strata,  which  at  some  points  attains  a  workable  thick- 
ness. Both  divisions  are  largely  developed  in  this  county;  but  as 
the  coal  is  exposed  at  a  few  points  only,  we  are  not  able  to  trace 
their  limits  throughout.  I  am  not  certain  whether  the  upper  division 
exists  in  the  extreme  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  but  in  the 
northeastern  part  it  is  the  prevailing  formation. 

At  the  west  end  of  the  Huffs,  as  the  high  cliffs  of  sandstone  are 
called,  which  form  the  southern  rim  of  the  dividing  ridge,  extending 
from  west  to  east,  through  the  north  part  of  the  county,  towards  the 
head  of  Clifty  branch  of  Lick  creek,  this  sandstone  forms  high  verti- 
cal cliffs,  and  reaches  a  thickness  of  some  150  or  200  feet,  to  the 
summit  of  the  ridge.  The  scenery  there  is  very  grand.  On  the 
ridge,  at  the  edge  of  the  northern  breaks,  I  was  astonished  at  the 
sight  of  a  curious  knob  of  sandstone,  with  bare  sides,  which  rises 
from  the  descending  ground,  in  places  60  feet,  to  the  full  height  of 
the  most  elevated  points  of  the  ridge,  with  which  it  is  connected  to 
the  eastward  by  a  narrow  neck,  while  it  stands  isolated  as  a  prom- 
ontory in  all  other  directions.  This  is  in  the  east  part  of  section  20 
(or  in  section  21),  township  11,  range  2.  Heavy  outcrops  of  sand- 
stone occur  at  numerous  points  all  over  the  ridge,  and  along  the 
creeks  flowing  northward  from  it,  as  well  on  the  branches  run- 
ning towards  Crab  Orchard,  as  on  those  of  Saline  river.  Some  shales 
were  also  noticed  on  these  creeks,  and  I  may  as  well  mention  here 
that  on  Clifty  branch  of  Saline  river,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 9,  township  11,  range  2,  I  found  some  boulders  of  granite,  the 
southernmost  representative  of  the  great  drift  formation,  of  which  I 
had  observed  similar  signs  farther  west,  in  the  south  part  of  Jackson 
county.  On  that  same  branch,  near  the  centre  of  section  2,  I 
observed  a  few  feet  of  argillaceous  and  arenaceous  shales  intercalated 
in  the  sandstones,  and  with  the  shales  traces  of  coal,  forming  a  thin 
but  rather  pure  streak,  partly  mixed  with  shale.  I  am  not  fully  sat- 
isfied whether  this  is  the  representative  of  the  coal  seam  between 
the  upper  and  lower  divisions  of  the  formation  here  reduced  to 
almost  nothing,  but  I  consider  it  likely.  Two  and  a-half  miles  farther 
north,  in  Williamson  county,  a  thicker  stratum  of  coal  is  said  to  have 
been  found.  In  section  12,  on  Dry  Fork,  some  slate  crops  out,  per- 
haps containing  a  faint  streak  of  carbonaceous  matter,  but  no  lime- 
stones, as  I  had  been  told.  Over  three  miles  of  the  upper  course 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  345 

of  Dutchman  creek  are  through  this  sandstone  formation,  which,  if 
we  consider  the  height  of  the  bluffs  at  the  head  of  the  creek,  and 
farther,  that  the  general  dip  of  the  strata  is  to  the  northward, 
although  they  may  be  horizontal  in  places,  while  the  creek  runs 
southward,  gives  us  an  idea  of  the  great  thickness  of  the  formation. 
The  same  may  be  said,  with  still  greater  force,  of  Town  creek,  which 
runs  five  and  one-half  miles  in  a  straight  line,  due  south,  through 
this  sandstone.  On  the  ridge  between  the  two  creeks,  close  to  the 
Vienna  and  Marion  road,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  32, 
township  11,  range  3,  at  Mr.  Campbell's,  the  intervening  coal  seam 
crops  out  at  the  head  of  a  ravine.  It  is  fifteen  inches  thick,  rests 
on  a  few  feet  of  shales,  and  is  capped  by  sixteen  inches  of  clay 
shales,  which  are  succeeded  by  shaly  sandstone,  and  then  by  massive 
sandstone.  The  coal  appears  to  be  fair,  but  not  superior.  It  is 
rather  soft,  splits  in  cuboidal  lumps,  and  crumbles  after  having  been 
exposed  some  time.  It  seems  not  to  contain  a  great  deal  of  sul- 
phuret  of  iron.  The  coal  could  probably  be  traced  easily  round  the 
adjoining  hills,  and  might  perhaps  be  worked  profitably  by  stripping 
along  its  outcrops.  This  outcrop  at  Mr.  Campbell's  gives  us  a  basis 
from  which,  to  judge  the  extent  of  the  upper  part  of  the  sandstone 
in  this  county.  Its  southern  limit  probably  extends  northwest  and 
east  of  this  point,  making  an  allowance  for  the  depression  of  the 
creek  valleys.  In  the  district  thus  marked  off  the  upper  part  of  this 
sandstone  caps  most  of  the  ridges.  The  next  point  farther  north 
where  the  coal  has  been  observed,  is  about  four  and  one-half  miles 
farther  on  the  Vienna  and  Marion  road,  near  the  middle  of  the  north 
line  of  section  16,  township  11,  range  3,  rather  low  down  on  a  ravine 
running  towards  Wagon  creek.  At  the  time  of  my  visit  the  coal  was 
covered  with  rubbish,  but  I  noticed  in  the  ravine  arenaceous  shales, 
and  higher  up  sandstones  apparently  of  the  upper  division.  Frag- 
ments of  the  coal  were  strewn  about.  I  could  not  ascertain  the 
thickness  of  the  seam,  which  appears  to  be  small,  much  thinner 
even  than  at  Campbell's.  Farther  down  the  branch  to  the  main 
creek,  through  the  west  part  of  section  9,  the  arenaceous  shales 
accompanying  the  coal  seem  to  prevail  along  the  base  of  the  hills. 
A  little  south  of  west  of  the  last  named  outcrop,  we  find  the  coal 
again  on  the  main  branch  of  Wagon  creek,  at  the  water  level,  in 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  15.  The  coal  seam  has  a  slight 
northern  dip  conformable  to  the  general  dip  of  the  formation,  is 
about  twelve  inches  thick,  and  resembles  that  at  Campbell's.  Above 
it  I  observed  fifteen  feet  of  bluish-gray  argillaceous  shale,  overlaid 
by  shelly  sand-rock,  below  it  slate ;  heavier  masses  of  the  sandstone 


346  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

are  exposed  in  the  higher  hills.  This  coal  has  been  used  to  some 
extent  by  blacksmiths.  It  is  known  as  Mr.  Whitehead's  coal-bank, 
and  might  certainly  be  followed  up  considerably  farther.  The  strata 
appear  to  continue  in,  approximately,  the  same  relative  position  to 
the  creek,  for  a  considerable  distance  downward.  The  same  shale 
was  observed  half  a  mile  farther  southeast  on  another  branch  of  the 
creek,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  14,  and  if  proper  search 
was  made,  the  coal  would  undoubtedly  be  discovered  there  also. 

Keynoldsburg  is  situated  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  33, 
township  11, -range  4,  just  below  the  summit  of  the  bluff  ridge,  on 
its  south  side,  on  the  breaks  of  Cedar  creek.  In  that  vicinity  the 
coal  seam  has  been  discovered  at  various  points.  The  town,  and 
also  the  mill,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  farther  west,  near  the  middle 
of  the  south  half  of  section  32,  are  both  situated  just  on  the  upper- 
most ledges  of  the  lower  Conglomerate.  Descending  thence  about 
112  feet,  we  reach  the  point  where  the  town  branch  and  mill  branch 
unite.  These  upper  112  feet  o/  the  lower  Conglomerate  are  there  all 
quartzose,  partly  quite  pure,  partly  slightly  tinged  with  iron.  Most 
of  the  rock  consists  of  fine  limpid  grains  of  quartz,  with  rounded 
edges,  which  are  scarcely  cemented  together,  so  that  the  stone  is 
friable  underneath  a  thin  outer  shell,  hardened  by  the  atmospheric 
agencies.  It  forms  partly  massive  layers,  partly  heavy  ledges  with 
false  stratification  and  ferruginous  seams,  partly  thin  even  ledges, 
and  partly  it  contains  more  iron  and  is  strongly  cemented  into  a 
hard  rock.  Few  of  the  strata  contain  quartzose  pebbles.  It  extends 
at  least  a  mile  lower  down  along  this  rapidly  descending  branch,  and 
must  therefore  attain  a  very  considerable  thickness.  The  horizon 
of  the  town  and  of  the  mill  is  that  of  the  coal  seam,  while  the 
upper  Conglomerate  forms  the  higher  summits.  At  the  town  the 
coal  is  not  exposed,  and  has  never  been  dug  after,  but  it  is  known 
to  exist  at  several  points  near  the  mill.  A  few  rods  north  of  the 
mill,  south  of  the  centre  of  section  32,  Mr.  Woodside  has  opened  it 
and  found  it  only  covered  with  a  few  feet  of  sand  and  gravel.  It 
is  said  to  have  been  30  inches  thick,  and  underlaid  with  shale.  To 
judge  from  the  weathered  fragments  it  must  have  been  of  good 
quality,  but  it  appears  to  have  contained  more  sulphur  than  is 
desirable  for  the  use  of  blacksmiths.  Large  quantities  of  coal  might 
here  be  obtained  by  stripping  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  west,  up 
the  branch,  near  the  centre  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  32. 
Mr.  John  May  has  opened  the  same  stratum.  It  is  there  24  inches 
thick,  overlaid  with  8  feet  of  laminated  blue  slate.  From  the  bottom 
of  the  coal  to  the  lower  sandstone  is  only  a  few  feet.  Farther  on, 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  347 

in  one  of  the  ravines  of  the  same  branch,  at  Mr.  Elisha  Bushing's, 
in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  81,  coal  has  also  been  found, 
and  is  reported  as  18  inches  thick.  It  is  not  now  exposed.  Sand- 
stone crops  out  a  short  distance  above  and  below  it.  It  is  situated 
higher  than  the  before  mentioned  outcrops,  and  if  it  is  the  same 
stratum,  as  I  have  good  reason  to  believe,  the  dip  of  the  formation 
must  here  be  locally  slightly  to  the  eastward. 

A  mile  north  of  the  mill,  across  the  main  ridge,  the  coal  was 
again  discovered  on  a  branch  of  Sugar  creek,  near  Mr.  Dean  Har- 
per's place,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  27,  township  11, 
range  4.  It  is  here  24  inches  thick.  The  roof  consists  of  gray 
argillaceous  shale,  capped  with  sandstone.  The  strata  below  the 
coal  bed  are  not  exposed.  Nothing  was  seen  of  the  blue  slate.  If 
search  was  made  the  coal  would  be  discovered  all  around  these  hills. 
Even  if  it  was  not  of  the  very  best  quality,  it  would  make  a  valu- 
able fuel  for  all  ordinary  heating  purposes,  especially  for  making 
steam.  A  mile  and  a  half  farther  north,  on  another  branch  of 
Sugar  creek,  at  a  much  lower  level,  at  the  ford  on  the  Keynolds- 
burg  and  Marian  road,  south  of  the  centre  of  section  19,  I  saw  in 
the  bank  about  25  feet  of  bluish-shaly  slate,  capped  with  sandstone. 
The  general  configuration  of  the  formations  led  me  to  believe  that 
this  might  be  the  slate  above  the  coal,  and  that  the  coal  would  per- 
haps be  found  just  below  the  water  level.  I  was  afterwards  assured 
by  Mr.  Woodside,  of  Keynoldsburg,  that  such  was  actually  the  case, 
and  that  at  the  season  of  low  water  about  20  bushels  of  coal  had 
once  been  taken  out  there.  Still  my  information  on  this  subject  is 
quite  vague,  and  I  can  only  state  what  I  had  heard.  Westward,  up 
that  branch,  the  sandstones  continue  prominently  exposed  in  the 
hillsides.  Towards  the  head  of  one  of  its  prongs,  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  24,  township  11,  range  3,  near  Mr.  Casey's,  1 
observed  a  heavy  outcrop  of  bluish  arenaceous  slates,  capped  by 
sandstones.  The  slates  are  penetrated  by  numerous  fissures,  and 
show  a  marked  dip  to  the  east  and  north.  Some  crystals  of  calcare- 
ous spar,  found  in  these  fissures,  have  given  rise  to  the  idea,  with 
those  not  acquainted  with  the  occurrence  of  mineral  veins,  that 
there  was  a  mine  of  some  valuable  metal,  probably  silver ;  and  con- 
siderable labor  has  been  expended  in  digging  into  these  slates,  of 
course  with  no  beneficial  result  whatever.  Notwithstanding  the  dip 
there  and  in  the  adjoining  sections  is  strong  to  the  northeastward, 
still  I  hardly  consider  these  slates  as  identical  with  those  of  section 
19;  nor  can  I  tell  whether  the  argillaceous  slates  on  the  branch 
near  the  middle  of  the  north  half  of  section  17  are  those  which 


348  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

accompany  the  coal,  although  I  believe  they  are.  Farther  clown 
Sugar  creek  higher  sandstones  form  the  banks  of  the  creek,  in  con- 
sequence of  their  northern  dip,  especially  in  the  west  part  of  section 
6,  township  11,  range  4;  and  the  same  is  the  case  a  mile  farther 
west,  on  Maple  branch,  in  the  west  part  of  section  1,  township  11, 
range  3.  They  must  belong  to  the  upper  part  of  the  Conglomerate. 

The  uplands  east  of  Sugar  creek,  in  the  northernmost  sections  of 
the  county,  are  all  underlaid  with  the  upper  Conglomerate,  and  coal 
has  been  observed  there  at  several  points.  There  have  been  some 
doubts  in  my  mind  whether  this  coal  was  the  same  stratum  as  the 
one  at  Eeynoldsburg,  at  the  junction  between  the  upper  and  lower 
Conglomerate,  or  a  higher  stratum  intercalated  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  sandstone.  It  is  found  on  ravines  and  creeks  considerably 
below  the  level  of  the  ridge,  which  is  itself  not  high  in  this  vicinity ; 
and  a  slight  undulation  only  of  the  strata  would  be  sufficient  to 
account  for  its  being  the  lower  one.  I  found  it  thus  on  a  branch 
in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  5,  accompanied  by  gray  slaty 
shale ;  but  it  was  not  sufficiently  exposed  here  to.  learn  more  about 
it.  Near  Mr.  Elijah  Henderson's,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 4,  it  was  again  observed  in  a  ravine,  hardly  more  than  14 
inches  thick,  but  of  very  fair  quality.  The  roof  consists  of  bluish- 
gray  indurated  argillaceous  shales,  of  which  5  feet  are  exposed ;  and 
20  feet  above  the  coal  follows  a  prominent  ledge  of  sandstone.  I 
could  not  see  the  strata  next  below  the  coal,  but  I  noticed  more 
sandstones  a  little  farther  down.  The  stratification  at  this  point  is 
irregular;  the  strata  are  bent.  It  cannot  surprise  us,  therefore,  to 
find  a  different  condition  in  the  next  ravine,  only  a  few  rods  distant. 
There  we  have  again  the  lower  sandstone,  then  light  colored  plastic 
clay,  gray  indurated  shale,  then  the  coal  capped  with  slaty  shale. 
The  thickness  of  the  coal  is,  however,  greater,  although  variable 
within  the  space  of  a  few  feet.  At  one  point  I  observed  18  inches 
of  good  coal,  overlaid  with  12  inches  of  very  slaty  coal ;  at  another, 
from  12  to  24  inches  of  shale  were  intercalated  between  the  lower 
coal  and  a  few  inches  of  upper  coal ;  at  a  third  place,  close  by,  the 
coal  was  from  4  to  5  feet  thick  and  apparently  of  fair  quality,  but 
not  well  exposed,  and  perhaps  slaty.  Blacksmiths  have  thus  far 
confined  themselves  to  the  coal  of  the  14  inch  point,  although  it 
contains  some  lumps  of  sulphuret  of  iron. 

On  Pond  creek,  a  little  over  a  mile  further  southeast,  I  noticed 
the  same  coal  seam  first  on  the  east  side  of  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  9.  It  is  there  only  from  6  to  8  inches  thick,  directly  over- 
laid with  a  heavy  ledge  of  sand-rock,  and  rests  on  gray  argillaceous 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  349 

shales,  underneath  which  more  sandstones  follows.  Farther  down 
the  creek  the  thickness  of  the  shales  evidently  expands.  Near  the 
northwest  corner  of  section  10  the  bank  of  the  creek  consists,  to  a 
height  of  10  feet,  of  argillaceous  laminated  slate  and  shale,  which  is 
capped  by  shaly  sandstone.  The  coal  is  here  apparently  underneath 
the  water  level.  A  short  distance  farther  down,  at  Mr.  W.  Phillips', 
in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  3,  coal  has  been  dug  up  in  a 
ravine  a  few  rods  distant  from,  and  a  few  feet  elevated  above  the 
creek.  It 'is  only  covered  with  soil,  and  large  quantities  might  be 
obtained  by  stripping.  The  thickness  of  the  stratum  is  variable.  In 
one  hole  it  was  found  as  much  as  four  feet  thick,  and  it  may  be  still 
thicker  where  it  has  a  solid  roof.  Part  of  it  has  a  dense  texture, 
but  the  lamination  can  be  recognized  throughout ;  another  portion  is 
slaty,  and  streaks  of  slate  are  found  between  the  coal.  It  is  evi- 
dently the  same  bed  as  the  one  at  Henderson's,  and  it  appears  that 
wherever  it  increases  in  thickness  slate  becomes  mixed  with  the  coal. 
It  is  also  said  to  have  contained  large  lumps  of  sulphuret  of  iron. 
A  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  down  Pond  creek,  I  observed  the  lower 
sandstone  at  the  water's  edge,  and  above  it  the  argillaceous  strata 
which  contain  the  coal.  The  latter  was  not  exposed  at  the  time  of 
my  visit,  but  had  been  opened  some  years  before,  and  was  reported 
to  have  been  found  18  inches  thick.  The  slope  is  there  steep  and 
rather  high,  and  partly  underlaid  with  shaly,  laminated  and  thinly 
stratified  sandstone.  The  prominent  ledges  of  sandstone  are  many 
feet  higher,  above  this  coal  seam,  than  at  Mr.  Henderson's.  Only  a 
few  feet  below  these  ledges,  I  observed  a  considerable  thickness  of 
arenaceous  slate,  then  some  feet  of  argillaceous  bluish  and  gray 
slates,  and  underneath  them  a  thin  streak  of  coal,  not  more  than  a 
few  inches  thick.  The  distance  between  the  two  coal  seams  is  prob- 
ably 50  feet.  Here  the  sandstones  corresponding  to  those  at  Hen- 
derson's are  either  hidden  under  the  slope  or  else  the  slaty  division 
is  here  far  more  developed.  I  understood  that  some  traces  of  the 
coal  had  also  been  discovered  a  mile  farther  southeast,  in  the  hills 
on  Little  Saline,  but  I  could  not  obtain  satisfactory  information  in 
relation  to  it.  Nothing  else  is  known  of  coal  in  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  county.  The  ridges  in  section  one  are  still  composed  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  sandstone. 

On  Little  Saline  creek,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  Pope  county 
line,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  12,  township  11,  range  4, 
we  find  the  lower  part  of  this  sandstone  dipping  underneath  the 
water  level  to  the  eastward.  Higher  up.  it  forms  the  foot  of  the 
hills,  while  the  higher  beds  form  their  summits.  I  traveled  south- 


350  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

ward  up  Glifty  branch  of  Little  Saline,  along  which  this  same  relative 
position  of  the  strata  prevails.     The  lower  part  of  the  sandstone  forms 
nearly  continuous    cliffs    along  it,  through  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  12,  west  of  section  13  and  west  of  section  24;  then  the  cliffs 
are  more  scattering,  and  the  increased  fall  of   the    creek   brings  us 
finally  up  to  the  urpper  sandstone,  which  I  traced,  far  to   northward 
on  the  east  side  of  the  creek,  and  which   here,  also,  contains  much 
brown  hydrous  oxide  of   iron.     The  coal  has  thus  far  not  been  dis- 
covered on  Clifty  branch,  nor   has  any  search  been  made  for  it. 
suppose  it  could  be  found  by  digging  down  to  the  strata  which  sepa- 
rate the  upper  and  lower  sandstones.    Not  far  from  the  head  of  the 
creek    near   the    southwest   comer  of    section  25,    I   observed   some 
ledges  of  sandstone  in  the  bank,  which  evidently  belong  to  the  lower 
division.    In  the  breaks  above  there,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 26,  I  noticed,  above  this  sandstone,  blue  slate  and  some  thinly- 
stratified  shaly  sandstone;  and  higher  up  still  more  slate,  capped  by 
heavy  ledges  of   upper   sandstone.     It    seems   that  these  slates  are 
those  separating  the  two  principal  divisions  of  the  Conglomerate,  and 
that  the  Keynoldsburg  coal,  if  it  continues  eastward,  might  be  found 
here  by  denuding  a  few  feet  of  the    slope  where  it  is   covered  with 

soil  and  rubbish. 

Thence  southeastward,  beyond  a  narrow  intervening  ridge,  I  str 
a  branch  of  Cedar  creek,  and  found  on  its  banks  heavy  cliffs  of  sand- 
stone which  continue  up  and  down  the  creek,  especially  downward, 
and  exhibit  a  strong  dip  northward.  Near  the  middle  of  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  35  this  lower  sandstone  is  exposed  on  the 
creek  with  an  uninterrupted  thickness  of  140  feet,  and  it  reaches 
much  farther  down  the  creek,  where  lower  strata  of  this  formation 
rise  to  the  surface  one  after  the  other.  Near  the  head  of  the  middle 
branch  of  Cedar  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  (?)  of  section  27,  I 
observed  an  outcrop  of  gray  and  bluish  shales,  which  apparently  cor- 
respond to  a  portion  of  the  beforementioned  slate  formation,  and  are 
half  way  between  them  and  the  Keynoldsburg  coal.  No  traces  of 
coal  were,  however,  discovered  at  this  point. 

The  lower  Conglomerate  extends  considerably  farther  south  ovei 
the  roughly  broken  ridge  into  township  12,  east  and  west  of  Cedar 
creek,  but  the  coal  and  upper  sandstone  are  not  supposed  to  extend 
far  in  that  direction  beyond  the  town  line. 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  351 

Economical  Geology. 

Coal. — Coal  has  been  observed  in  Johnson  county  in  the  Chester 
group  and  in  the  Conglomerate,  but  the  regular  Coal  Measures  do 
not  extend  quite  so  far  south.  In  the  Chester  group,  it  is  confined 
to  a  few  thin  streaks,  the  thickest  of  which  has  at  one  single  point 
been  found  to  reach  a  thickness  of  6  inches.  This  coal  has  only  a 
scientific  interest,  inasmuch  as  it  shows  that  the  conditions  under 
which  coal  could  be  formed  began  to  exist  during  the  Chester  era, 
before  the  Coal  Measure  period;  but  these  seams  of  coal  cannot  be 
presumed  to  have  anywhere  attained  a  sufficient  thickness  for  being 
worked. 

The  conditions  in  the  Conglomerate,  which  succeeded  the  Chester 
era,  were  more  favorable  to  the  development  of  stone  coal,  and  we 
find  one  coal  seam  at  the  junction  of  the  lower  and  upper  divisions 
of  this  formation  in  Johnson  county,  and  perhaps  a  second  one  higher 
up  in  the  upper 'beds.  This  coal  does  not  differ  materially  from  the 
coal  of  the  Coal  Measures,  but  it  is  mostly  thin,  varying  between  12 
and  24  inches  in  thickness,  and  where  it  increases  to  4  feet  or  more, 
this  increase  appears  to  be  partly  due  to  an  admixture  of  shales, 
which  impairs  the  quality  of  the  coal.  It  is,  nevertheless,  of  consid- 
erable local  importance,  because  in  this  broken  country  it  can  be 
worked  by  stripping  along  its  outcrops,  which  might  undoubtedly  be 
traced  round  most  of  the  hills  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county, 
especially  in  township  11,  range  4,  and  in  township  11,  range  3. 
The  coal  is  bituminous,  but  not  strongly;  its  quality  appears  to  be 
fair  in  general,  only  it  contains,  in  places,  considerable  sulphur  in 
connection  with  iron,  which  makes  it  necessary  to  pick  the  coal 
well. 

In  the  foregoing  pages,  I  have  described  all  the  points  where  any 
signs  of  coal  have  been  discovered  in  the  Conglomerate.  I  will, 
therefore,  confine  myself  here  to  the  enumeration  of  them  again,  in  a 
tabular  form. 


352 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 


Outcrops  of  Coal  in  the  Conglomerate  of  Johnson  County. 


Name. 

Township  . 

Range  

Section  .... 

Quarter. 

Thickness 
of  the  coal 
Inches. 

Remarks. 

Woodside's 

11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 

4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
3 
8 
3 

h 

32 

32 
31 

29 

4 

4 
5 
9 
3 
3 

f> 

11 
15 
l(i 
32 
2 

S..  of  center... 
S.W. 

30 
24 
18 
24 
14 
30  to  60 
? 
6  to  8 
48 
18? 
Thin 
? 

12 

V 

15 
Thin 

Near  Reynoldsburg  Mills, 

At  the  head  of  Sugar  Creek. 
(Different  outcrops  of  the  same 
f    bed. 
Branch  of  Sugar  Creek. 
On  Pond  Creelc. 

j  On  Pond  Creek,  the  same  as  No. 
1     9,  50  feet  above  No.  10. 
Near  Little  Saline  creek. 
On  Wagon  Creek. 
Branch  of  Wagon  creek. 

John  May's 

E.  Bushing's  

N.W.  of  S.E. 
S.W.  of  S.W. 
N.  of  N.W... 
N.  of  N.W... 
S.E.  of  S.E.. 
E.  of  N.E 

Dean  Harper's  
Elij.  Henderson's. 
Elij.  Henderson's. 

W.Phillips'  

S.W.  of  S.W. 
S.E.  of  S.W. 
Center  of  S.W 

N.W(?) 

Whitehead's 

E.  of  N.E 

Mi'dle  of  N.  line 
S.W  

Campbell's  

Center 

On  Clifty  branch  of  Saline. 

Outcrops  of  shales  or  slates,  supposed  to  be  those  which  accom- 
pany the  coal,  were  further  found  at  the  following  points :  In  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  26,  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  27, 
middle  of  the  north  part  of  section  17,  south  of  the  center  of  sec- 
tion 19,  township  11,  range  4,  northeast  quarter  of  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  14,  township  11,  range  3,  and  at  other  places. 

Minerals. — Ores  of  the  valuable  metals  are  not  found  in  Johnson 
county,  with  the  exception  of  the  brown  hematite  iron  ore,  the  hydrous 
oxide  of  iron.  Thia  is  distributed  in  small  quantities  through  many 
of  the  sandstones,  and  is  present  in  considerable  quantity  in  the 
upper  Conglomerate.  It  does  not  appear  to  form  any  regular  veins 
or  strata,  but  it  is  mixed,  in  smaller  or  larger  quantity,  into  the 
sandstone.  Thus  we  find  all  degrees  of  transition,  between  a  slightly 
ferruginous  sandstone,  an  iron  ore  mixed  with  some  sand,  and  a 
pure  iron  ore.  No  excavations  have  ever  been  made  to  ascertain 
the  quantity  of  the  iron  ore  in  any  one  place.  I  think  it  doubtful 
whether  it  occurs  anywhere  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  of  sufficient 
purity,  to  warrant  the  erection  of  smelting  works.  The  sand  with 
which  it  is  so  profusely  mixed  is  a  very  undesirable  admixture, 
because  rt  is  apt,  under  the  influence  of  a  smelting  heat,  to  enter 
into  chemical  combination  with  the  iron,  and  to  form  slag  with  it. 
It  takes  a  high  heat  and  a  large  quantity  of  lime,  as  flux,  to  pre- 
vent this. 

The  following  localities  are  amongst  those  at  which  the  iron  ore 
has  been  observed  most  profusely:  Two  miles  northwest  of  Eey- 
noldsburg,  between  the  forks  of  Sugar  creek,  on  the  northeast 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  353 

quarter  of  section  30,  and  farther  northwest  near  the  range  line 
west  of  section  19,  township  11,  range  4 ;  also  near  Clifty  branch  of 
Little  Saline,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  13,  township  11, 
range  4,  and  thence  southeastward.  One  of  the  richest  localities  is 
just  beyond  the  county  line  in  Pope  county,  in  the  northwest  corner 
of  section  30,  township  11,  range  5,  at  the  southern  edge  of  the 
crest  of  the  main  dividing  ridge. 

Saltpetre  has  in  former  years  been  obtained  :in  small  quantities 
from  under  some  overhanging  cliffs  of  Conglomerate  sandstone ;  but 
the  small  quantity  which  can  thus  be  obtained,  and  the  present  low 
price  of  the  article,  prevents  its  exploration  being  any  longer  remu- 
nerative. 

Mineral  Springs. — The  only  mineral  springs  at  present  known  in 
Johnson  county  are  springs  containing  sulphate  of  iron,  copperas 
springs,  not  sulphur  springs,  as  they  are  also  sometimes  erroneously 
called,  which  name  is  generally  used  for  springs  containing  sul- 
phureted  hydrogen.  Weak  springs  of  this  kind  are  very  numerous, 
and  ooze  out  of  nearly  every  layer  of  shales  in  the  Conglomerate. 
The  two  most  noted  ones  are  the  one  northeast  of  Eeynoldsburg,  on 
a  branch  of  Cedar  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  34, 
township  11,  range  4,  and  the  other  half  a  mile  west  of  the  Pope 
county  line,  south  of  the  center  of  section  12,  township  12,  range  4, 
on  a  small  branch  of  Little  Bay  creek.  This  latter  spring  used  to 
be  a  noted  watering  place  in  former  times,  when  the  country  was 
thinly  settled.  People  congregated  there  from  far  and  near  lived 
there  in  log  houses,  the  remains  of  which  may  still  be  seen,  or 
camped  around,  drank  the  water,  and  amused  themselves  with  hunt- 
ing, horse-racing,  gambling,  dancing,  and  in  having  a  good  time  in 
general.  Sulphate  of  iron  appears  to  be  its  principal,  and  perhaps 
only,  mineral  constituent.  Its  hygienic  properties  are,  therefore,  of 
at  least  doubtful  value.  As  a  cure  for  intermittent  fever,  people 
sometimes  drink  as  much  of  it  as  they  can  possibly  swallow  during 
an  hour,  and  then  exercise  violently  in  order  to  produce  perspira- 
tion. This  treatment  might,  however,  be  modified  advantageously 
by  substituting  an  artificial  compound  instead  of  the  spring  water. 
Its  continued  use  exercises  an  unfavorable  influence  upon  the  digest- 
ive organs,  while  the  favorable  effect  of  the  iron  upon  the  system 
would  be  far  better  produced  by  some  other  combination  of  it. 

Building  Materials. — Johnson  county  is  rich  in  the  ordinary  mate- 
rials for  building.      Sandstone  may  be  obtained  at  numerous  points 
from  the  sandstones  composing  the  eighth,  sixth  fourth  and  second 
—23 


364  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

divisions  of  the  Chester  series,  and  the  Conglomerate.  The  sixth 
Chester  division  contains  fine  even  slabs  of  sandstone,  which  were 
especially  noticed  in  the  center  of  section  10,  township  13,  range  2 ; 
in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  16,  and  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  18,  township  13,  range  3;  south  of  the  center  of  section  33, 
township  13,  range  4;  and  in  the  west  part  of  section  8,  township 
13,  range  4.  The  fourth  division  contains  similar  slabs  in  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  31,  township  12,  range  2 ;  and  a  very 
superior  sandstone  for  stone-cutters'  work,  on  Bay  river,  near  the 
southwest  corner  of  section  3,  township  13,  range  4.  The  sandstone 
No.  2  contains  mostly  only  rocks  for  ordinary  walls,  and  the  Con; 
glomerate,  although  most  of  it  is  not  fit  for  building  purposes, 
contains  good  quarries  at  various  points ;  for  example,  near  the 
Vienna  and  Marion  road,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  3,  and 
in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  29,  township  12,  range  3;  in 
section  4,  township  12,  range  3;  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
1,  township  11,  range  3,  and  at  other  places. 

Limestones  of  good  quality  as  building  rock  may  also  be  obtained 
in  the  St.  Louis  and  Chester  groups.  It  may  also  be  burnt  into  lime 
at  numerous  points,  although  much  of  it  is  too  siliceous  and  too 
full  of  other  impurities  for  this  purpose. 

Sand,  for  making  mortar,  is  of  common  occurrence,  and  clay  for 
brick  may  be  dug  up  nearly  everywhere. 

Agriculture. 

In  the  preceding  pages  I  have  discussed  the  general  surface  con- 
figuration of  the  county.  I  will  add  some  details,  especially  in 
relation  to  the  width  of  the  creek  bottoms  and  the  growth  of  timber. 
I  have  already  stated  that  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  in 
the  district  occupied  by  the  Conglomerate,  the  county  is  very  roughly 
broken ;  that  the  creeks  run  there  through  rocky  chasms,  and  have 
seldom  any  arable  bottom  lands ;  that  the  hillsides  are  mostly  steep 
and  rocky,  and  frequently  exhibit  prominent  cliffs,  but  that  the 
ridges,  where  they  are  of  sufficient  width,  make  fine  farms. 

On  Wagon  creek,  Maple  branch,  Sugar  creek  aud  Pond  creek, 
there  are  some  bottom  lands  near  the  county  line,  mostly  in  detached 
patches.  On  them  I  find  much  white  oak  (Quercus  alba),  swamp 
white  oak  (Q.  bicolor),  scarlet  oak  (Q.  coccinea),  a  few  laurel  oak 
(Q.  imbricaria),  and  pin  oak  (water  rock,  Q.  pallustris) ;  also,  sugar 
maple  (Acer  saccharinum),  white  walnut  (Juglans  cineria),  black 
walnut  (J.  nigra),  elm  (Ulmus  spc?),  mulberry  (Moms  rubra),  scaly 


JOHNSON   COUNTY.  355 

bark  hickory  (Gary a  alba),  pignut  hickory  (C.  glabra),  a  few  yellow 
poplar  (Liriodendron  tulipiferum),  red-bud  (Cercis  Canadensis),  box 
elder  (Negundo  aceroides),  sycamore  (Plat-anus  occidentalis),  then  paw- 
paw (Asmina  triloba),  hazel  (Corylus  Americana),  and  other  smaller 
trees ;  but  at  some  points,  also,  where  sandstones  form  the  bank  of 
the  creek,  with  scarcely  any  soil  upon  them,  the  red  birch  (Betula 
nigra). 

Higher  up  on  these  and  on  other  creeks  of  the  Conglomerate  dis- 
trict, the  bottoms  are  generally  not  more  than  a  few  yards  wide, 
and  overflow  after  every  heavy  shower.  We  find  there  principally 
the  various  oaks,  some  walnut,  sugar  maple,  some  yellow  poplar, 
but  only  a  few  beech.  On  the  branches  running  southward,  which 
have  also  the  same  character,  I  observed,  before  they  reached  the 
Chester  formation,  more  beech  (Fagus  ferruginea),  maple  (Acer  dasy- 
carpum),  and  sweet  gum  (Liquidamber  styraciflua),  with  the  oak 
timber. 

On  the  ridges  of  the  Conglomerate  formation  the  principal  timber 
is  a  fine  growth  of  white  oak,  with  black  oak  (Quercus  tinctoria), 
black  gum  (Nyssa  multiflora),  barren  hickory  (Carya  tomentosa),  pig- 
nut, some  scalybark  hickory,  sassafras,  hazel,  etc.  Where  the  soil 
is  shallow,  and  the  ridges  very  dry,  the  growth  becomes  more 
stunted,  and  post  oak  (Q.  obtusiloba),  and  black-jack  (Q.  nigra)  make 
their  appearance,  and  also  the  winged  elm  (Ulmus  alata).  On  bald 
sandstone  bluffs,  of  the  Conglomerate  and  of  the  Chester  sandstones, 
only  the  red  cedar  (Juniperus  Virginiana)  will  thrive.  Towards  the 
north  line  of  the  county  the  growth  on  the  ridges  begins  to  change 
somewhat,  and  to  become  more  similar  to  that  of  the  lower  Coal 
Measures.  The  white  oak  becomes  smaller ;  post  oak  becomes  plenty. 
Besides,  there  is  especially  black  oak,  barren  Spanish  oak  (Q.falcata- 
triloba),  some  black-jack,  barren  hickory,  some  laurel  oak,  and  water 
oak,  hazel,  sassafras,  sumac,  etc. 

On  the  ridges,  which  are  directly  underlaid  with  Chester  sand- 
stones, the  growth  of  timber  is  nearly  the  same  as  on  the  Conglom- 
erate. It  consists  principally  of  white  oak,  black  oak,  some  barren 
Spanish  oak,  scarlet  oak,  black  gum,  barren  hickory  and  pig-nut 
hickory,  either  of  which  trees  is  more  or  less  frequent,  according  to 
local  circumstances.  At  very  dry  points  we  find  the  winged  elm ; 
but  the  post  oak  and  laurel  oak  were  observed  only  at  a  few  local- 
ities. Where  shales  and  limestones  have  participated  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  soils,  the  growth  of  timber  is  more  luxuriant,  and  with 
abundant  white  and  scarlet  oak,  and  some  others  of  the  above 


356  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

trees,  are  profusely  mixed  the  sugar  maple,  black  walnut,  scaly-bark 
hickory,  yellow  poplar,  sweet  gum,  and  others. 

The  timber  of  the  creek  bottoms  in  the  district  of  the  Chester 
formation,  above  the  points  where  they  begin  to  form  wet  low  bot- 
toms with  cypress  growth,  and  lower  down,  at  such  points  where 
the  bottoms  are  not  swampy,  consists  mainly  of  the  swamp  white 
oak  and  the  sugar  maple,  together  with  the  white  oak,  a  few  burr 
oak,  sweet  gum,  elm,  ash,  walnut,  scaly-bark  and  other  hickories, 
and  maple. 

In  those  creek  bottoms,  including  the  Cache  river  bottom  along 
the  lower  course  of  that  river,  which  are  swampy  during  the  larger 
part  of  the  year,  the  growth  consists  prevailingly  of  the  bald  cypress 
(Taxodium  distichum)  and  tupelo  gum  (Nyssa  uniflora,  at  the  lowest 
points,  then  of  sweet  gum,  white  ash  (Fraxinus  Americano),  horn- 
beam (Carpinus  Americano),  sycamore,  locust,  slippery  elm  (Ulmus 
flava),  maple,  water  oak,  swamp  white  oak,  Spanish  oak,  shell-bark 
hickory  and  bottom,  hickory  (a  variety  of  the  barren  hickory  (C. 
tomentara  var).  On  the  higher  ground  around  the  foot  of  the  hills 
at  the  edge  of  the  bottom,  we  find  there  principally  white  oak,  red 
oak,  yellow  poplar,  black  and  white  walnut,  black  gum,  sugar  maple, 
pig-nut  hickory,  besides  red-bud  (Cercis  Canadensis),  paw-paw  (Asmina 
triloba),  sassafras,  hazel,  etc.  The  whole  is  densely  interwoven  with 
cane,  where  the  latter  has  not  been  destroyed  by  cattle. 

In  relation  to  the  bottom  lands  along  the  different  creeks,  I  have 
further  to  state  that  the  bottom  of  Lick  creek  varies  from  a  quarter 
to  a  half  mile  in  width  in  Johnson  county.  On  the  Cache  river  we 
find  the  first  cypress  swamp  just  west  of  the  Union  county  line,  but 
then  the  bottom  is  again  higher  and  dryer,  and  its  width,  which  is 
quite  variable,  may  average  half  a  mile  through  township  12.  In 
the  north  part  of  section  4,  township  13,  range  2,  it  has  scarcely 
any  bottom;  in  section  9  it  connects  with  an  extensive  cypress 
swamp.  Through  the  south  part  of  section  11,  sections  15  and  11, 
and  the  north  part  of  section  23,  the  bottom  contains  much  cypress 
timber,  is  fully  a  mile  wide,  and  spreads  even  farther  into  branch 
bottoms.  In  the  north  part  of  section  23  it  connects  again  with 
extensive  ponds,  which  reach  thence  several  miles  to  the  west  and 
southward.  In  the  west  part  of  section  24  the  bottom  is  once  more 
narrow,  and  ledges  of  sandstone  form  the  bed  of  the  stream,  which 
is  here  clear  and  runs  swiftly.  Below  this  point  it  is  more  stag- 
nant, with  brown-colored  water,  and  full  of  drifted  logs.  The  bot- 
tom lands  then  average  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to  near  the  mouth 
of  Dutchman  creek,  when  they  spread  out  to  nearly  two  miles ;  and 


JOHNSON    COUNTY.  357 

at  the  Massac  county  line  Cache  river  enters  the  main  swamp  region, 
which  at  numerous  points  measures  several  miles  in  width. 

The  lower  two  miles  of  the  Dutchman  creek  bottom  are  very  wide, 
but  then  it  is  hemmed  in  by  bluffs  which  reduce  its  width  to  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  at  an  average.  From  the  mouth  of  Town  creek 
upwards  it  is  again  considerably  wider  for  some  miles,  in  places 
over  a  mile  wide.  On  the  upper  course  of  the  creek,  in  the  Chester 
formation,  and  further  upwards  in  the  Conglomerate,  there  are  no 
bottom  lands,  or  only  small  detached  and  mostly  overflowed  patches. 
Town  creek  has  some  wide  bottoms  above  Vienna,  but  principally 
finely  sloping  low  side  hills,  up  to  the  point  where  it  leaves  the 
Conglomerate  formation.  Mack  creek,  after  it  leaves  the  Conglom- 
erate, soon  begins  to  form  considerable  bottom,  which,  thence  to  its 
mouth,  averages  half  a  mile  in  width,  and  is,  in  places,  a  mile  wide. 
The  same  is  the  case  with  Cedar  creek  to  its  junction  with  Mack 
creek.  Thence  downward,  its  bottom  unites  with  that  of  Bay  river. 
The  bottom  of  Little  Bay  creek,  at  the  Pope  county  line,  is  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  wide,  and  has  low,  finely  sloping  uplands  adjoining  it. 
It  soon  unites  with  Big  Bay  river.  The  bottom  of  the  latter,  a  short 
distance  from  the  county  line,  begins  to  form  wide,  low,  wet  bot- 
toms, and  cypress  swamps.  They  appear  to  average  fully  one  mile, 
and,  are  in  some  places  two  miles  wide,  while  at  others  they  are 
much  narrower.  Near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  county,  Bay  river 
enters  the  main  swamp  region. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  to  allude  to  a  small  but  interesting  tract  of 
land  at  the  extreme  southern  end  of  the  county.  In  the  east  part 
of  section  4  and  in  section  3,  township  14,  range  2,  I  observed  an 
extensive  body  of  post  oak  timber  under  very  unusual  circumstances, 
at  the  edge  of  the  Cache  river  flats,  and  only  a  few  feet  elevated 
above  these  bottom  lands,  far  away  from  any  other  post  oak  lands. 

The  post  oak  thrives  best  on  the  white,  extremely  fine  arenaceous 
soil  of  the  Coal  Measures  of  Southern  Illinois,  especially  in  flat  dis- 
tricts with  an  imperfect  surface  drainage,  and  also  on  the  flats  with 
a  similar  soil,  which  are  formed  by  the  fine  Tertiary  sands  near  the 
Ohio,  in  Massac  county.  At  the  above  named  point  we  find  a  sim- 
ilar white,  extremely  fine,  siliceous  soil,  over  a  nearly  level  area, 
and  I  can  not  but  think  that  it  must  be  derived  from  the  Tertiary 
formations  which  underlie  the  uplands  south  of  Cache  river.  To- 
gether with  the  post  oak  we  find  here  some  white  oak,  black  oak, 
etc.,  and,  at  a  lower  point,  the  swamp  white  oak,  scaly-bark  hickory, 
and  some  laurel  oak,  locust,  etc. 


CHAPTER     XV. 

PULASKI  COUNTY. 

BY  HENRY  ENGELMANN. 

Pulaski  county  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Ohio  river,  on  the 
west  by  Alexander  county,  on  the  north  by  Union  and  Johnson  coun- 
ties, and  on  the  east  by  Massac  county.  It  embraces  an  area  of  192 
square  miles,  of  which  nearly  115  are  more  or  less  elevated  upland, 
and  the  remainder  low  alluvial  bottom  and  swamp  land,  mostly  situ- 
ated along  Cache  river.  All  of  the  county  is  timbered,  the  bottom 
lands  very  heavily. 

Surface   Configuration. 

The  surface  configuration  and  growth  of  timber  are  by  no  means 
uniform  over  the  whole  county,  but  they  vary  considerably  with  the 
geological  formations  and  with  the  proximity  of  the  main  water 
courses — the  Ohio  and  Cache  rivers.  A  new  feature,  not  found  in 
the  counties  heretofore  described,  is  presented  by  the  yellow  loam 
region  of  the  oak  barrens,  in  the  central  part  of  the  county. 

The  lower  Carboniferous  limestone  formation  extends  into  the 
northern  and  northwestern  part  of  Pulaski  county,  and  forms  gently- 
sloping  low  hills;  with  a  fertile  soil,  a  rich  arenaceous  loam.  These 
hills  are  covered  with  heavy  timber,  consisting  principally  of  white 
oak,  black  oak,  pignut  hickory,  scaly-bark  hickory,  yellow  poplar, 
black  gum,  black  walnut  and  dogwood.  They  slope  off  to  southward 
to  the  Cache  river  bottoms.  Cache  river  runs  from  east  to  west, 
through  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  before  it  turns  southward 
at  its  west  side.  Along  the  river  we  generally  find  a  wide,  wet  and 
overflowed  bottom,  and  it  forms  numerous  pounds,  sloughs  and 
swamps.  Scattered  through  this  low  land  are  ridges  or  swells,  only 


PULASKI    COUNTY.  359 

a  few  feet  higher,  but  above  the  overflow;  and  north  and  south  of 
the  main  bottom  there  are  other  ponds  and  swarnps,  generally  con- 
nected with  the  river  by  a  depression  of  the  surface,  and  often  situ- 
ated below  the  flood  level.  The  back-water  from  the  Ohio  reaches 
up  Cache  river  hardly  as  far  as  Ullin,  at  the  crossing  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad,  and  the  floods  above  are  more  immediately  caused 
by  the  headwater  of  the  stream  when  its  discharge  is  impeded  by  the 
back-water.  The  bottoms  are  heavily  timbered  throughout,  and  at 
some  points  the  timber  attains  a  prodigious  size.  It  consists,  in  low 
places  on  the  river,  and  on  sloughs,  and  in  ponds,  of  the  swamp 
cypress  and  tupulo  germ ;  and,  on  a  little  dryer  ground,  sweet  gum, 
swamp  white  oak,  Spanish  oak,  red  oak,  white  oak,  yellow  poplar, 
black  walnut,  sugar  maple,  black  gum,  pignut  hickory,  scaly-bark 
hickory,  a  few  pecan,  maple,  white  ash,  elm,  dogwood,  pawpaw,  red- 
bud,  and  others.  The  branches  and  small  streams  emptying  into 
Cache  river  from  the  south  and  east  have  mostly  wide  wet  bottoms, 
in  which,  except  in  close  proximity  to  the  Cache  river  bottoms,  the 
water  oak  and  the  swamp  white  oak  prevail,  together  with  sweet  gum, 
ash,  locust,  and  locally,  also,  burr  oak,  laurel  oak,  bitter  oak,  and 
other  trees.  The  bottom  ridges  have  a  growth  of  white  oak  and  yellow 
poplar,  mixed  with  other  trees  such  as  thrive  in  the  dryer  parts  of 
the  bottom.  They  have  a  warm,  light,  sandy  soil  of  inexhaustible 
richness,  but  the  principal  drawback  to  their  more  extensive  cultiva- 
tion is  the  malaria  arising  from  the  adjoining  swamps  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  getting  pure  water.  The  extensive  lumbering  operations  on 
Cache  river  will  gradually  exercise  a  beneficial  influence  in  thinning 
out  the  heavy  timber  of  this  district. 

The  limestone  formation  extends  southward  beyond  Cache  river, 
and  underlays  the  opposite  hills,  which  are  gently  sloping  and  heavily 
timbered.  The  growth  of  trees  is  similar  to  that  north  of  the  swamps, 
consisting  of  white  oak,  black  oak,  yellow  poplar,  hickory,  etc.,  but 
the  mixture  of  the  soil  with  materials  from  the  adjoining  barren 
region  is  manifested  by  the  presence  of  maple,  sweet  gum,  and 
some  other  trees  which  are  not  common  on  the  limestone  hills  farther 
north. 

The  main  body  of  the  upland  in  Pulaski  county,  between  Cache 
and  Ohio  rivers,  is  underlaid  with  Tertiary  strata,  and  mny  be  desig- 
nated as  oak  barrens.  They  consist  of  alternations  of  gently  sloping, 
more  or  less  sharply  rolling  or  broken  ridges.  Their  soil  is  a  yellow, 
finely-arenaceous  loam,  and  reaches  to  a  considerable  depth.  The 
growth  in  the  central  portion,  and  extending  nearly  through  the 
whole  width  of  the  county,  is  characterized  by  an  abundance  of 


360  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

small,  brushy  bitter  oak,  an  upland  variety  of  the  Spanish  oak,  a 
tree  which  is  hardly  found  anywhere  farther  north  and  replaces  the 
black  oak  and  black  jack,  which  diminish  in  numbers  and  soon  dis- 
appear, when  the  bitter  oak  begins  to  prevail.  The  bitter  oak  usually 
forms  a  dense  under-brush,  together  with  an  abundance  of  hazel, 
sassafras  and  sumac,  and  is  more  or  less  interspersed  with  large 
bitter  oak,  together  with  some  post  oak,  white  oak,  black  oak,  barren 
hickory,  pig-nut  hickory,  black  gum,  in  some  places  small  yellow 
poplar,  in  others  a  few  winged  elm;  at  some  points,  also,  with  the 
laurel  oak  and  the  scaly-bark  hickory.  These  oak  barrens  are  spar- 
ingly cultivated  at  present,  but  are  susceptible  of  a  high  state  of 
cultivation.  Their  soil  is  strong,  and  has  all  the  elements  of  fertility 
in  a  considerable  degree. 

Near  the  western  edge  of  the  oak  barrens,  towards  Pulaski,  the 
species  of  timber  remain  nearly  the  same,  but  white  oak  prevails 
over  the  .others,  and  black  gum  and  yellow  poplar  are,  also,  more 
numerous.  South  of  Boar  creek,  west  and  southwest  of  Villa-ridge, 
the  hills  extend  farther  west,  close  on  to  Cache  river.  Although  the 
geological  formation  remains  unchanged,  and  the  yellow  loam  soil 
continues,  the  timber  in  this  district  is  different;  hickories  prevail, 
with  walnut  and  sweet  gum,  and  the  barren  oak  has  all  but  disap- 
peared. I  noticed  on  the  hills,  and  on  the  slopes  especially,  white 
oak,  swamp  white  oak,  blue  bark  oak,  a  variety  of  the  red  oak, 
scaly-bark  hickory,  pig-nut  hickory,  barren  hickory,  black  gum, 
sweet  gum,  ash,  black  walnut,  white  walnut,  yellow  poplar,  sugar 
maple,  dog  wood,  red  bud,  sassafras,  and  a  few  beech.  Farther 
east,  towards  the  Ohio  and  Caledonia,  this  forest  growth  continues, 
gradually  admitting  more  and  more  of  the  oak  barren  growth,  while 
the  swamp  white  oak  is  not  found  any  more.  On  the  hills  and 
ridges  near  the  Ohio,  above  Caledonia,  the  barren  growth  is  found 
to  a  considerable  extent;  still  the.  white  oak  generally  prevails, 
together  with  black  oak  and  hickories.  The  sweet  gum  is  confined 
there  to  the  foot  of  the  hills.  In  the  extreme  southeastern  corner  of 
the  county  the  limestone  formation  once  more  crops  out  at  the  base 
of  the  river  bluffs,  and  consequently  the  same  timber  is  found  there 
which  covered  the  slopes  south  of  the  swamps. 

The  extreme  southwest  corner  of  the  upland  consists  of  steep 
rugged  hills,  which  are  remarkable  for  being  covered  exclusively 
with  beech  timber,  probably  in  consequence  of  their  geological  form- 
ation, in  which  a  heavy  body  of  imperfectly  cemented  flint-gravel 
and  sand  appears  to  predominate.  The  beech  timber  extends  on 
the  slopes  of  the  bluff  hills  a  short  distance  east  of  the  Illinois 


PULASKI  COUNTY.  361 

Central  Eailroad,  and  also  southward  into  the  bottom,  where  it  is 
mainly  mixed  with  white  oak,  yellow  poplar,  scaly-bark  hickory,  and 
sugar  maple. 

The  bottom  lands  on  the  lower  Ohio  river,  up  to  within  a  few 
miles  of  Caledonia,  may  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  Missis- 
sippi bottom.  The  Ohio,  farther  up  in  Pulaski  county,  has  generally 
no  bottom,  or  only  a  narrow  strip.  These  bottoms  are  subject  to 
frequent  overflows,  and  cannot  be  cultivated.  Their  principal  growth 
is  willow,  pecan,  sycamore,  maple,  cottonwood,  ash  and  box  elder. 

Geological   Formations. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  county  the  St.  Louis  limestone  is 
largely  developed.  It  extends  also  south  of  the  Cache  river  swamps, 
forming  a  narrow  band  along  the  foot  of  the  uplands,  and  crops  out 
once  more  near  the  head  of  the  Grand  Chain  Rapids,  on  the  bank  of 
the  Ohio  river,  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  county ;  so  that  it 
would  seem  as  if  these  strata  were  continuous  all  underneath  the 
eastern  part  of  the  county,  reaching  little  above  the  low-water  level 
of  the  Ohio  and  Cache  rivers,  and  covered  between  these  rivers  by 
the  Tertiary  strata  of  the  oak  barren  region.  Where  the  Cache  river 
bluffs  approach  Mill  creek,  north  of  Ullin,  these  limestones  rise  con- 
siderably, and  another  formation,  probably  the  Kinderhook  group, 
appears  to  form  the  base  of  the  bluffs ;  but  it  has  nowhere  been 
exposed  sufficiently  to  be  identified.  At  one  other  point  only  have  I 
observed  a  small  outcrop  of  an  older  formation.  On  Boar  creek,  not 
far  from  Cache  river,  north  of  west  of  Villa-ridge,  the  lower  Devon- 
ian or  Clear  creek  limestone  may  be  recognized,  nearly  concealed 
by  Tertiary  deposits.  It  forms  high  hills  in  Alexander  county  a  few 
miles  west  of  this  point,  and  where  now  the  bottom  lands  intervene 
there  stretched  evidently,  at  some  former  time,  a  barrier  of  Devonian 
hills.  The  whole  of  the  uplands  of  Pulaski  county,  south  of  Cache 
river,  are  underlaid  with  the  continuation  of  those  strata  which,  in 
Alexander  county,  forms  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Mississippi 
river  bluffs.  They  appear  to  be  of  the  Tertiary  age,  and  may  date 
partly  from  a  still  later  period.  They  form  all  the  outcrops  at  the 
edge  of  the  uplands  east  of  the  Cache  river  below  Ullin,  the  bluffs 
of  the  Ohio  river  from  below  Caledonia  to  the  Massac  county  line, 
and  underlay  the  oak  barren  region  generally,  extending  to  and 
beyond  the  eastern  boundary  line  of  .the  county.  The  geological 
formations  of  Pulaski  county  are,  therefore,  the  following  in  descend- 
ing order : 


362  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

1.  The  Tertiary  formation,  which  consists  principally  of  clay  and 
very  fine  micaceous  sand,  together  with  coarser  sand,  which  is  more 
or   less   indurated,    and   irregularly   permeated   and   cemented  with 
oxyd  of  iron.      Then   there   are   large   masses   of  rounded  siliceous 
pebbles,  which  are  at  many  points  formed  into   a  ferruginous  con- 
glomerate, popularly  called  cement  rock.      This  formation  contains 
traces  of  lignitic  coal,  which   are,  however,  of  no   practical  import- 
ance.    The  aggregate  thickness  of  the  formation  is  estimated  at  from 
200  to  300  feet;   it  could  not  be  determined  more  closely.     Some  of 
these  strata  have  probably  been   broken  up  and  re-deposited  at   a 
later  period,  and  others  may  originally  belong  to  a  later  epoch,  but 
the   uniformity  of   the  material   made   it  impossible  to  make  nicer 
discriminations   of  their   age.      The  Tertiary  formation  overlies  the 
older  rocks  unconformably. 

2.  The  St.  Louis  Limestone. — This   formation   in   Pulaski  county 
consists  of  limestones   of   gray,  bluish  and  white  colors,  crystalline, 
sub-crystalline,  or  semi-crystalline,  and  partly  highly  siliceous,  and 
full  of  concretions  of  flint.      The    thickness  of  this  formation  could 
not  be  ascertained  because  the  outcrops  are  far  apart,  and  none  of 
them  exhibits  more  than  a  few  feet  of  strata.     The  aggregate  thick- 
ness must,  nevertheless,  be  considerable. 

3.  Kinderhook  Group,  Black  Slate  and  Devonian  Limestone. — These 
groups  were  nowhere  identified  in  this  county,   although  the  over- 
lying  and   underlying   beds    were   recognized,   and    this    outcrop    is 
probably  now  hidden  by   the   Quaternary  and   Tertiary  formations. 
But  as  there  is  a  hiatus  of  several  miles  in  extent  between  the  out- 
crop of  St.  Louis  limestone  and  the  lower  Devonian  or  Clear  creek 
limestone,  it  is  probable  that   it   was   originally   occupied    by  these 
groups.    If  these  Devonian  strata  extend  into  Pulaski  county,  how- 
ever, they  have  either  been  so  far  destroyed  by  denudition  that  they 
do  not  reach  above  the  bottom  level,  or  else  they  are  entirely  covered 
up  now  by  Tertiary  and  Quaternary  deposits. 

4.  Clear  Creek  Limestone. — This   formation   crops    out   only  at   a 
single  point,  in  a  bluff  a  few  feet  wide   and  high,  on  Boar  creek, 
half  a  mile  east  of  Cache  river,  in  the  east  part  of  section  30,  town- 
ship 15,  range  1  west.      This  outcrop  consists  of  some  thin  ledges 
of  white  flint  rock,  with  partings  of  white  clay,  and  might,  by  its 
lithological  character  alone,  at  once  be  identified.    It  contains,  how- 
ever, some  casts  of  fossils  of  this  formation.     It  will  not  be  necessary 
to  refer  to  it  again  in  the  following  pages. 


PULASKI    COUNTY.  363 


The  St.  Louis  Limestone. 

I  have  stated  before  that  the  most  prominent  exposures  of  this 
period  correspond  to  its  lowest  sub-division,  which  is  a  whitish,  semi- 
crystalline  limestone,  with  an  earthy,  uneven  fracture,  relieved  by 
numerous  crystalline  particles,  partly  siliceous.  We  find  this  forma- 
tion in  the  Cache  river  bluffs  east  of  Mill  creek,  and  on  the  south 
side  of  Cache  river,  for  some  miles  east  and  southeast  of  Ullin, 
which  indicates  the  undisturbed  continuation  of  the  southeastern 
trend  which  it  has  in  Union  county. 

A  mile  and  a  quarter  south  of  Wetaug,  a  short  distance  west  of  the 
Illinois  Central  Eailroad,  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  section  14, 
township  1-1-,  range  1  west,  we  find  at  the  upper  edge  of  the  low 
bluff  hills  an  outcrop  of  a  few  feet  of  gray  crystalline,  apparently 
magnesian  limestone,  in  heavy  layers  and  of  a  uniform  texture,  full 
of  indistinct  fossils.  These  appear  to  be  the  lowest  strata  of  the 
middle  division.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  southwest  the  lower 
beds  crop  out  with  their  usual  characters.  They  have  been  quarried 
extensively,  and  are  a  superior  building  material.  The  white  rock  is 
ten  feet  thick,  underlaid  with  as  many  more  feet  of  a  more  compact, 
gray  and  cherty  limestone,  below  which  the  slope  is  fifteen  feet  high  to 
the  river  bottom.  Thence  southwestward  through  section  14,  the 
white  limestone  forms  nearly  continuous  cliffs,  with  an  exposed 
thickness  of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet,  rising,  gradually,  higher 
above  the  bottom.  On  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  14  (?),  it 
appears  to  begin  at  a  height  of  fifty  feet.  Toward  the  west  line  of 
the  section  the  bluffs  are  lower,  and  at  the  base  of  the  white  rock 
gray  and  cherty  ledges  are  exposed.  The  wet  character  of  the  creek 
bottom  seems  to  be  caused  by  the  presence  of  the  shales  of  the 
Black  Slate  formation,  which,  however,  are  not  exposed.  Thence  up 
Mill  creek  we  find  no  outcrops  for  some  distance,  but  in  the  roughly 
broken  hills  the  gray  and  bluish  siliceous  limestones  of  the  middle 
division  of  the  St.  Louis  group  prevails.  I  noticed  them  especially 
near  the  northeast  corner  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  14,  on 
a  branch  not  far  from  Mill  creek,  in  the  south  part  of  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  3,  and  at  other  points ;  and  towards  Wetaug  I 
observed  several  sink-holes,  which  are  evidently  connected  with  this 
formation.  The  big  spring  near  WTetaug  owes  its  origin  to  these  sink- 
holes and  subterranean  caverns  in  the  limestone. 

South  of  Cache  river  the  lower  beds  of  this  group  are  exposed  in 
the  low  bluff  bank  near  the  middle  of  the  west  half  of  section  19, 


364  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OP   ILLINOIS. 

township  14,  range  1  east,  and  has  been  found  at  various  points  in 
digging  through  a  few  feet  of  soil  for  about  'three-quarters  of  a  mile 
up  the  stream.  Again,  two  miles  further  east,  in  the  north  part  of 
section  28,  in  a  well  dug  on  the  low  upland,  limestone  was  struck  at 
a  depth  of  sixteen  feet,  which  partly  resembles  these  lower  beds,  but 
is  a  little  more  bluish.  Above  it  loose  pieces  of  chert  were  found, 
which  are  derived  from  the  higher  ledges  of  this  formation.  In  the 
southwest  quarter  of  the  adjoining  section  21,  more  limestone  was 
struck  in  a  well.  That,  too,  was  partly  close-textured,  cherty  and 
blue,  partly  corresponded  to  the  lower  beds,  so  that  it  appears  as  if 
these  wells  were  at  the  junction  of  the  lower  and  middle  sub-divisions 
of  this  limestone  formation.  The  limestone  was  also  struck  near  the 
Cache  bridge  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  20. 

A  short  distance  below  the  outcrop  of  'the  limestone,  in  section  19, 
near  the  west  line  of  that  section,  slate  is  said  to  have  been  found 
in  the  bank  of  Cache  river.  It  was  covered  by  the  water  at  the 
time  of  my  visit,  so  that  I  could  not  ascertain  its  true  character; 
but  as  it  had  been  dug  into  some  years  ago,  with  the  expectation 
of  finding  coal,  I  suppose  that  it  must  be  the  Black  Slate  of  the 
Devonian  formation.  Farther  south  and  southwest  other  traces  of 
limestone  have  been  found;  a  sink-hole  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  30,  township  14,  range  1  east ;  then  the  rock  itself  in  a  well 
on  the  low  upland,  a  little  distance  farther  west,  just  across  the 
range  line,  in  range  1  west;  and  lastly,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  25,  in  the  low  bluffs  at  the  edge  of  the  bottom,  limestones 
have  come  up  in  large  masses  with  the  roots  of  fallen  trees,  and 
have  near  by  been  found  in  solid  ledges  in  a  well.  All  these  rocks 
are  siliceous,  cherty  and  sub-crystalline.  I  hardly  think  that  they 
can  correspond  to  the  middle  division  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  but 
rather  that  they  may  belong  to  the  siliceous  limestone  below. 

The  middle  division  of  this  limestone  occupies  the  partly  broken 
and  gently  sloping  uplands  between  Mill  creek  and  Wetaug,  north 
of  the  bluff  hills ;  it  forms  the  bluff  hills  themselves  between  Wetaug 
and  Big  creek,  and  farther  on  to  Cypress  creek,  and  can  be  traced 
on  the  south  side  of  Cache  river,  to  and  across  the  Massac  county 
line,  although  it  is  little  exposed.  The  prominent  bluff  which  it 
forms  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Cache  bottoms  in  Johnson  county 
have  been  described  in  the  report  on  that  county. 

I  ha've  mentioned  above  that  the  lowest  strata  of  this  division  are 
found  in  the  bluffs  a  short  distance  west  of  the  railroad.  A  mile  east 
of  it,  southeast  of  Wetaug,  in  the  west  part  of  section  7,  township 
14,  range  1  east,  the  gray  and  bluish  crystalline,  or  sub-crystalline 


PULASK1   COUNTY.  365 

and  siliceous  rocks  of  this  formation,  form  a  considerable  outcrop 
at  the  bottom's  edge,  and  crop  out  of  the  cultivated  slope  farther 
east.  We  then  find  them  again  in  the  banks  of  Big  creek,  in  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  8,  southeast  corner  of  section  6,  and 
near  the  county  line  in  the  north  part  of  section  6.  The  only  out- 
crops farther  east  are  also  along  the  Cache  river  bluffs,  if  the  low 
banks  at  the  edge  of  the  upland  can  be  so  called.  The  first  and 
most  prominent  one  is  near  the  east  line  of  section  8,  where'  some 
rock  has  been  quarried,  although  it  is  cherty  and  of  indifferent 
quality.  Another  one  is  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  10,  and 
several  in  the  southwest  and  southeast  quarters  of  section  2.  In  the 
south  part  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  2,  close  to  the  banks 
of  Cypress  creek,  I  observed  a  layer  of  gray,  siliceous,  fetid  limestone 
and  a  limestone  spring ;  but  close  by,  scarcely  lower  down,  a  soft-water 
spring  and  fragments  of  a  hard  sand-rock.  Should  this  sandstone  be 
in  place,  capping  the  limestone,  it  must  be  an  outlier  of  sandstone 
No.  8,  or  No.  10,  of  the  Chester  series.  Possibly  the  sandstone  might 
be  an  outlier  of  the  Tertiary  formation.  A  mile  farther  northeast, 
in  Johnson  county,  the  St.  Louis  limestone  reaches  high  up  in  the 
hills. 

We  have  seen  that  the  lowest  ledges  of  the  middle  division  cap 
this  limestone  in  the  north  part  of  section  28  and  the  southwest 
quarter  of  'section  21,  township  14,  range  1  east.  Thence  eastward 
in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  22,  a  bluish-gray,  semi-crystal- 
line, silico-magnesian,  fetid  limestone,  evidently  a  member  of  the 
middle  division,  crops  out  a  few  feet  thick  at  the  bank  of  a  slough 
of  Cache  river.  Two  miles  farther  east,  in  section  13,  the  bluff 
hills  rise  again  a  little  bolder,  and  fragments  of  similar  limestones 
are  strewn  over  their  slopes,  indicating  that  these  hills  are  formed 
by  the  same  formation  which  is  also  exposed  at  the  edge  of  the 
bottom  in  the  southwest  quarter,  and  in  the  northeast  quarter  of 
the  adjoining  section  18,  township  14,  range  2  east.  Thence  east- 
ward, outcrops  are  entirely  wanting  on  the  south  side  of  Cache 
river,  but  in  a  well  on  a  low  hill,  near  the  centre  of  section  24, 
such  limestone  is  in  place  at  the  bottom,  and  was  found  tumbling 
higher  up,  which  proves  that  this  formation  continues,  but  is  covered 
up  by  superficial  deposits,  and  perhaps  locally  removed  by  denuda- 
tion. Farther  on,  in  Massac  county,  it  is  again  prominently  exposed, 
and  it  also  reaches  the  surface  three  and  one-half  miles  south  of 
the  last  named  point,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 

There  the  limestone  protrudes  along  the  gravelly  beach  in  detached 
masses,  extending  altogether  about  1£  miles  along  the  river,  from  a 


366  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

quarter  of  a  mile  west  of  the  Massac  line,  downward  through  the 
north  part  of  section  12,  and  near  the  south  line  of  section  2,  town- 
ship 15,  range  2  east.  Its  highest  exposures  reach  hardly  10  feet 
above  low-water  mark,  and  it  is  therefore  during  a  part  of  the  year 
concealed  from  view.  The  statement  made  to  me  that  the  bed  of 
the  river  in  this  vicinity  also  consisted  of  this  limestone,  seems  to 
be  well  founded,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  ihis  rock  which  causes  the 
shallows  and  rapids  known  as  the  "Grand  Chain"  of  the  Ohio, 
which  begin  near  the  Massac  county  line,  and  extend  some  distance 
down  the  river.  Of  course  only  the  hardest  and  most  compact 
ledges  have  withstood  the  eroding  power  of  the  river,  and  the  ex- 
posed masses  are  therefore  exceedingly  hard,  and  full  of  chert  in 
nodules  and  seams.  Fossils  are  abundant,  especially  bryozoa.  The 
hills  which  reach  close  to  the  river  bank  consist  of  Tertiary  depos- 
its, and  the.  regular  bluffs  near  the  limestone  exhibit  outcrops  of 
Tertiary  strata  to  their  very  base.  The  upper  division  of  this  lime- 
stone has  not  been  recognized  in  this  county. 


The  Tertiary  and  Later  Fwmations. 

The  Tertiary  formation  has  been  described  above  in  general  terms. 
A  detailed  section  of  it  cannot  be  given,  because  the  exposures  are 
scattered  far  apart,  and  generally  not  high ;  and  because  the  details 
of  the  formation  appear  to  be  quite  variable.  The  principal  out- 
crops were  observed  at  some  points  at  the  edge  of  the  Cache  river 
bottoms,  and  on  the  Ohio  river,  along  the  western  and  southern 
limits  of  the  uplands  composed  of  this  formation ;  by  describing 
them  its  character  will  be  best  exemplified. 

Two  miles  south  of  east  of  Ullin,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 80,  township  14,  range  1  east,  close  to  one  of  the  above  named 
outcrops  of  limestone,  I  noticed  fragments  of  the  ferruginous  con- 
glomerate of  flint  pebbles  and  flint  gravel  in  such  quantity  on  the 
side  of  a  hill,  that  I  can  entertain  no  doubt  but  that  these  rocks 
are  in  place  in  the  upper  part  of  this  hill.  Similar  masses  were 
observed  at  other  points  further  south,  seldom  in  large  quantity, 
however,  mostly  at  a  sharp  point  or  turn  of  a  hill,  or  in  steep 
breaks.  They  evidently  underlie  the  higher  part  of  the  uplands, -of 
which  more  proofs  will  be  given  hereafter,  while  softer  strata,  which 
disintegrate  more  easily,  form  the  base  of  the  hills,  and  are  exposed 
only  at  a  few  points.  Rocks  of  any  description  are  quite  scarce  in 
this  district  on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 


PULASKI   COUNTY.  367 

,  In  the  side  of  the  bluff  close  to  Pulaski  station,  near  the  center 
of  section  15,  township  15,  range  1  west,  I  noticed  some  dark  gray 
clay,  closely  resembling  the  potters'  clay  of  Santa  Fe,  mixed  with 
ferruginous  sand.  The  slope  is  strewn  with  thin  shells  of  ferrugin- 
ous sandstone,  with  pieces  of  the  Conglomerate,  and  with  pebbles, 
associated  with  which  I  observed  pieces  of  brown  iron  ore  contain- 
ing a  considerable  admixture  of  sand,  and  evidently  originating  from 
a  local  accumulation  of  the  hydrous  oxide  of  iron  in  a  part  of  the 
sandstone.  Digging  in  a  ravine  a  few  rods  farther  northeast,  the 
gray  potters'  clay  was  again  found,  and  a  little  higher  up  the 
white,  micaceous,  finely-grained,  shaly  sand  or  silt,  which  is  so 
characteristic  a  member  of  the  Tertiary  formation  of  this  district. 
A  streak  of  carbonaceous  matter,  an  impure  lignite,  hardly  an  inch 
thick,  was  also  observed  close  by,  and  in  the  south  half  of  the  same 
section,  a  fine  white  sand  has  been  dug  up  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff 
which  is  useful  for  building  purposes  and  resembles  the  Tertiary 
sands  of  Santa  Fe  and  Caledonia.  Small  outcrops  of  the  same 
materials  occcur  two  miles  farther  east,  in  the  lower  part  of  a 
ravine  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  13,  and  they  have  been 
found  also  in  several  wells. 

South  of  Boar  creek  the  uplands  extend  further  west  close  on  to 
Cache  river.  In  the  ravines  we  find  occasionally  flint  gravel  or 
pieces  of  the  Conglomerate,  and  on  the  creek  a  bank  of  arenaceous 
shale,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  29,  township  15,  range  1 
west,  and  a  bank  of  fine  brown  quartz  sand  in  the  southwest  quar- 
ter of  section  29.  At  the  outcrop  of  the  Clear  creek  limestone,  in 
the  east  part  of  section  30,  the  latter  is  capped  by  the  white  mica- 
ceous, laminated,  soft,  shaly  sandstone,  and  close  by  there  is  more 
Tertiary  sand  and  arenaceous  shale. 

Near  the  bend  of  Cache  river,  where  the  ferry  road  ascends  from 
the  bottom,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  31,  township  15,  range 
1  west,  several  feet  of  the  dark  gray  clay  shale  are  exposed  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  hill,  apparently  the  same  as  the  Santa  Fe  clay, 
intermixed  with  streaks  of  sand  and  shells  of  ferruginous  sandstone, 
as  is  common  in  this  formation.  Underneath  it  the  white,  micaceous, 
soft,  shaly  sandstone  could  here  be  seen  in  place.  Pieces  of  the 
ferruginous  Conglomerate  of  flint  pebbles  and  of  hard  ferruginous 
sandstone  were  then  noticed  loose  in  a  ravine  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  5,  township  16,  range  1  west,  and  also  in  the  north  part 
of  section  18,  and  at  a  few  other  points,  but  no  rocks  are  found  in 
place  anywhere  over  these  hills.  Some  sink-holes  were  observed  on 
the  hills  in  or  near  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  7  (?),  but  I 


368  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

hardly  think  that  they  are  caused  by  underlying  limestones,  which 
is  the  almost  universal  origin  of  the  sink-holes  in  Illinois  and  adjoin- 
ing States.  They  are  situated  close  to  the  head  of  abruptly  descending 
ravines  or  breaks,  and  may  be  caused  by  the  washing  off  of  loose, 
fine,  underlying  sand,  another  portion  of  which,  perhaps  cemented 
by  iron,  offered  more  resistance  to  the  percolating  waters,  and  thus 
remained  a  barrier  preventing  the  sink-hole  from  uniting  with  the 
break  and  becoming  its  head. 

In  the  north  part  of  section  18,  or  in  the  south  part  of  section  7, 
township  16,  range  1  west,  the  bank  of  Cache  river  is  composed  of 
argillaceous  shale  of  gray  color,  slightly  micaceous,  and  free  of  sand, 
iron  and  other  impurities.  It  is  at  least  15  feet  thick,  and  would 
probably  yield  an  excellent  clay  for  potter's  ware.  It  is  undoubtedly 
Tertiary,  and  may  possibly  form  the  continuation  of  the  before- 
mentioned  less  pure  clay  bank.  Near  by,  white  sand,  flint  pebbles 
and  sandstone  are  strewn  in  abundance.  At  an  old  mill  site,  in  the 
north  part  of  section  19  (or  south  part  of  18  ?),  20  feet  of  such  shale 
were  exposed  in  the  bank  of  the  river,  covered  with  loose  flint  gravel 
of  brown  color,  and  with  huge  masses  of  a  conglomerate  of  such 
gravel,  and  sand  cemented  by  the  brown  oxide  of  iron,  which  differed 
from  the  Conglomerate  at  other  points,  in  being  loosely  and  imper- 
fectly cemented. 

From  this  point  southward  the  bluffs  on  Cache  river  continue  steep, 
although  not  very  high,  to  the  east  end  of  the  bend,  in  section  20, 
where  they  make  a  turn  towards  the  northeast,  and  leave  Cache  river, 
trending  towards  the  Ohio.  On  the  lower  end  of  the  branch  which 
empties  near  this  bend,  I  again  observed  a  slight  exposure  of  the 
gray  clay  shale.  Thence  eastward,  to  and  beyond  the  railroad,  the 
hills  continue  to  be  covered  entirely  with  soil,  sand  and  the  brown 
gravel,  which  are  struck  in  digging  on  them ;  and  at  a  certain  uniform 
level  lower  down,  numerous  springs  indicate  the  presence  of  an 
impermeable  stratum  of  clay.  Near  a  branch,  in  section  12,  wells 
pass  through  the  gravel  into  the  clay.  A  mile  from  the  bluffs,  inland, 
on  a  branch  considerably  below  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  in  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  17,  township  16,  range  1  west,  I  observed  15 
feet  of  the  pebble  Conglomerate  in  place.  It  was  underlaid  with 
"loose  pebbles,  from  which  we  may  conclude  that  the  iron  ore,  acting 
as  a  cement,  has  been  introduced  from  above,  and  that  the  free  or 
cemented  condition  of  the  pebble  layers  is  subject  to  many  local 
variations. 

The  railroad  cut  south  of  Villa-ridge,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  5,  township  16,  range  1  west,  passes  through  heavy  beds  of 


PULASKI   COUNTY.  369 

the  brown  siliceous  pebbles,  and  of  finer  brown  siliceous  sand.  Such 
sand  is  also  exposed  at  several  points  in  the  south  part  of  section  35, 
township  15,  range  1  west,  east  of  Villa-ridge,  and  a  well  dug  on 
higher  ground  on  the  ridge,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  35, 
passed  through  18  feet  of  soil  and  yellow  loam,  18  feet  of  cemented 
gravel,  11  feet  of  gravel  mixed  with  sand.  It  is  difficult  to  decide, 
in  many  cases,  where  the  sand  and  gravel  are  in  their  original  posi- 
tion and  where  re-arranged  by  later  floods. 

The  southern  end  of  the  uplands,  near  the  Ohio,  is  quite  low  and 
rather  flat,  with  no  exposures  of  rock  strata.  Near  the  site  of  the 
now  abandoned  town  of  America,  situated  in  the  centre  of  section  9, 
township  16,  range  1  east,  the  low  bluff  bank  consists  of  a  yellow 
loam,  not  dissimilar  to  the  Loess  formation,  and  of  some  white  fine 
sand,  which  differs  from  all  the  Tertiary  sands  of  this  district  in 
being  free  of  mica,  and  which  appears,  therefore,  to  be  of  Quaternary 
age.  A  public  well  was  once  sunk  near  the  centre  of  section  9.  It 
is  said  to  have  been  95  feet  deep,  and  to  have  only  passed  through 
sand,  gravel  and  the  like,  but  not  to  have  struck  any  rock  or  soap- 
stone.  It  is,  however,  so  long  since  the  well  has  been  dug,  that  I 
could  not  ascertain  any  particulars. 

Lower  Caledonia,  formerly  the  county  seat,  but  now  merely  a  farm, 
is  the  next  point  where  the  river  washes  the  bluff,  which  is  here  also 
quite  low,  and  consists  of  a  mixture  of  yellow  clay  and  gravel, 
evidently  a  Quaternary  deposit.  The  presence  of  the  Tertiary  clay 
shales  underneath  a  slight  covering  in  the  beach  is,  however,  betrayed 
by  springs  and  grass  tufts,  which,  some  miles  higher  up  the  river, 
I  learned  to  recognize  as  unmistakable  companions  of  these  shales. 
Signs  of  the  shales  are  also  recognized  a  short  distance  inland. 

Caledonia,  a  mile  farther  up  the  river,  is  situated  on  much  higher 
bluffs,  in  the  north  part  of  section  26  and  the  south  part  of  section 
23.  Near  the  point  where  the  line  between  these  two  sections  strikes 
the  river,  the  following  succession  of  strata  may  be  observed,  in 
descending  order: 

1.  Yellow  loam  soil  and  sub-soil. 

2.  Gravel,  with  fragments  of  ferruginous  pebble  Conglomerate. 

3.  Gray  argillaceous  shale,  micaceous,    plastic,  apparently  a  fine 
potter's  clay.    At  the  outcrop  it  is  stained  by  iron,  which,  however, 
seems  to  originate  from  above,  and  not  to  be  contained  in  the  fresh 
shale.     The  lower  part  is  areno-argillaceous,  and  the  highest  imper- 
fectly exposed  portion  appears  to  be  lighter  colored,  and  also  mixed 
with  fine  arenaceous  silt.    Thickness,  upwards  of  20  feet. 

—24 


370  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

4.  Fine,  gritty,  micaceous  sand.    At  its  top,  and  more  numerous 
towards  its  base,  it  contains  irregular  hard  shells  of  the  same  sand, 
cemented  by  iron  into  more  or  less  hard  rock.     The  exposed  surface 
of  the  stratum  is  yellowish-brown,  in  consequence  of  the  chalybeate 
waters  which  ooze  over  it,  but  the  fresh  sand  is  mostly  white.     It  is 
18  feet  thick. 

5.  Dark  gray  and  flesh-colored  micaceous  shale,  containing  much 
fine  arenaceous  silt   and  horizontal   streaks  of  irregularly  cemented 
ferruginous  fine  sand ;  7£  feet  thick.    Particles  of  carbonaceous  matter 
were  also  observed  in  this  stratum. 

6.  Covered ;  9  feet. 

7.  Dark  gray,  micaceous,  plastic  clay  shale,  with  thin  streaks  of 
sand  and  ferruginous  matter,  similar  to  No.  5.     Exposed  thickness, 
2  feet. 

8.  Eiver  beach  covered  with  sand  and  gravel.     The  whole  exposed 
thickness  of  the  strata  is  therefore  56£  feet.     The  highest  hills  here 
reach  from  120  to  150  feet  above  the  river.    The  flesh-colored  shale, 
No.  5,  corresponds  to  a   similar   stratum   at   Santa  Fe,  in   which  I 
also  found  a  streak  of   lignitic  coal.     A  short  distance  above  town, 
this  stratum  exhibits  the  strongest  indication  of  coal  which  has  been 
observed  in  the  county.    It  is  a  thin  streak  or  rather  a  thin  pocketful 
of  lignite  and  mineral  charcoal.    The  seams  of  ferruginous  sandstone 
at  the  base  of  No.  4,  and  in  Nos.  5,  6  and  7,  become  quite  a  promi- 
nent feature  above  the  town,  where  they  increase  in  thickness. 

Exposures  are  numerous  along  the  Ohio,  above  Caledonia,  and  the 
strata  are  similar  to  those  at  Caledonia.  Sulphuret  of  iron,  in  irreg- 
ular concretions,  is  contained  in  large  quantity  in  the  shales,  and  we 
find,  therefore,  at  numerous  points,  springs  of  chalybeate  water. 
Some  of  the  sulphuret  has  been  oxidized  and  converted  into  the  car- 
bonate, of  which  I  found  pieces  still  retaining  a  kernel  of  the  sulphuret 
in  the  centre.  The  sandstones,  of  course,  contain  all  the  iron  in  an 
oxidized  form,  as  a  hydrated  peroxide. 

In  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  13,  township  15,  range  1  east, 
the  sand  No.  4  is  most  prominently  exposed  near  the  river,  and  con- 
tinuing up  a  branch,  I  observed  outcrops  of  ferruginous  sandstone, 
and,  towards  the  breaks,  flint  pebbles  in  profusion.  These  latter  may 
be  observed  in  most  of  the  breaks  back  of  the  river  in  sections  14, 
12,  and  farther  on. 

In  sections  18  and  7,  township  15,  range  2  east,  the  lower  part  of 
the  bluffs  consists  of  gray  micaceous  and  arenaceous  silt,  of  impalpable 
fineness,  which,  higher  up,  turns  white,  and  is  exposed  to  a  thickness 
of  fifty  feet.  At  one  place  it  is  capped  by  red  sand,  and  generally 


PULASKI    COUNTY.  371 

the  slope  is  strewn  with  ferruginous  sandstone,  which  partly  originates 
within,  partly  above  these  strata.  Through  section  8  the  exposures 
are  less  numerous,  but  indicate  the  same  formation.  Then  the  hills 
fall  off,  and  the  next  bluff,  in  section  9,  consists  of  the  rounded  flint 
pebbles,  cemented  into  a  solid  rock.  Similar  ones  occur  in  section 
3,  and  other  bluff  banks  are  formed  by  a  mixture  of  the  yellow  sur- 
face loam  with  more  or  less  gravel.  The  latter  undoubtedly,  and  per- 
haps, also,  the  former,  date  from  the  .present  epoch,  although  they 
contain  materials  from  the  Tertiary  strata.  These  latter,  however, 
still  underlay  the  uplands,  which  become  higher  near  the  river,  in 
the  east  part  of  range  2  east,  and  they  crop  out  in  the  bluffs  at 
various  points.  In  section  2  we  find  the  white  micaceous  and  arena- 
ceous silt,  and  then,  near  the  west  line  of  section  1,  a  gray  clay-shale, 
of  which  considerable  quantities  have  been  dug  up  at  the  base  of  the 
bluff  bank,  to  be  used  at  the  pottery  at  Mound  City.  This  is  close 
to  the  outcrops  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone. 

Ascending  a  ravine  a  short  distance  west  of  the  county  line,  in  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  12,  township  15,  range  2  east,  I  observed 
more  of  the  potter's  clay.  It  was  somewhat  mixed  with  sand,  at  least 
near  the  exposed,  surface,  but  I  was  assured  that  lower  down  it  was 
very  pure.  Above  it  follows  a  considerable  thickness  of  the  fine  white 
micaceous  material,  which  is  laminated  as  at  other  points,  but  not 
quite  so  fine — rather  more  sand  than  arenaceous  silt ;  so  that  portions 
of  it  form  a  good  material  for  scouring.  The  whole  branch  is  heavily 
strewn  with  pebbles  and  pieces  of  Conglomerate,  which  seem  to  b'e  in 
place  towards  the  summit  of  the  ridge. 

I  have  stated  above  that  outcrops  were  less  prominent  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  main  water  courses ;  still  we  find  sufficient  exposures 
to  satisfy  us  that  the  same  kind  of  strata  which  we  have  observed 
along  the  Ohio  continue  under  the  whole  barren  region  of  the  county. 
In  the  following,  I  will  enumerate  the  principal  exposures  which  have 
not  been  mentioned  before : 

On  Briar  creek,  which  runs  through  the  west  half  of  township  15, 
range  1  east,  and  empties  into  the  Ohio  near  America,  the  first  out- 
crop occurs  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  28,  township  15,  range 
1  east ;  it  is  a  clay  shale.  The  next  one  is  also  shale,  in  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  29,  on  a  ravine  not  far  from  the  creek;  and 
traces  of  shale  and  of  white  arenaceous  silt  were  observed  on  branches 
of  the  creek  in  section  17.  Nearly  in  its  whole  length  the  bed  of  the 
creek  is  strewn  with  gravel  and  fragments  of  the  pebble  Conglomerate, 
especially  towards  it  head.  With  this  Conglomerate,  and  undoubtedly 
originating  from  it,  I  noticed,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17 


372  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS.    . 

small  pieces  of  limonite,  an  impure  argillaceous  variety  of  which,  of 
a  yellowish -brown  color,  has  been  sometimes  collected  by  the  farmers 
and  used  as  a  paint,  after  being  calcined. 

Shales  are  found,  also,  on  a  branch  of  Boar  creek,  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  the  adjoining  section  18,  and  large  pieces  of  the  Conglom- 
erate, especially  in  ravines  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  5, 
while  the  flint  gravel  is  strewn  about  at  various  points. 

In  the  northeast  part  of  this  same  township,  township  15,  range  1 
east,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  12,  the  hillsides  are  thickly 
strewn  with  the  gravel,  and  lower  down,  in  a  ravine,  I  noticed  pieces 
of  the  Conglomerate,  and  also  of  ferruginous  sandstone,  and  strong 
indications  of  the  clay  shales.  In  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  2, 
shales  were  struck  in  digging  a  well.  In  the  adjoining  section  36, 
township  14,  range  1  east,  in  the  northeast  quarter,  large  pieces  of 
the  Conglomerate  were  observed  near  the  summit  of  the  ridge.  At 
the  south  side  of  Cypress  pond,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
28,  township  14,  range  2  east,  huge  masses  of  it  maybe  seen  at  the 
foot  of  a  soil-covered  hill.  I  suppose  it  must  have  tumbled  from  a 
higher  level,  and  that  we  would  be  more  apt  to  strike  limestone  in 
digging  at  the  edge  of  the  pond  than  Tertiary  strata.  In  the  north; 
east  quarter  of  section  34,  township  14,  range  2  east,  a  well  dug  on 
a  little  elevated  upland,  passed  through  12  feet  of  yellow  loam,  some 
gravel,  20  feet  of  brownish-red  sand,  part  of  which  was  rather  strongly 
cemented,  and  then  reached  a  solid  shale,  which  had  to  be  worked 
with  a  pick.  On  higher  ground  of  that  vicinity,  white  sand,  perhaps 
the  shaly  arenaceous  silt,  is  struck  in  wells.  Northeast  of  Post  creek 
the  low  hills  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  24,  township  14, 
range  2  east,  contain  a  considerable  thickness  of  this  gravel.  A  well, 
dug  close  to  the  county  line,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  sec- 
tion, is  65  feet  deep,  and  passed  most  of  that  depth  through  such 
gravel. 

In  regard  to  the  age  of  the  formations  which  have  been  described 
in  the  preceding  pages,  I  can  only  remark  that  their  lower  portion 
(if  not  the  whole  of  them)  appears  to  be  of  the  Tertiary  age,  while 
it  has  not  been  possible  to  determine  the  sub-division  of  that  period 
to  which  it  might  be  referred.  It  is  characterized  as  Tertiary  by 
some  fossils  which  Mr.  WOKTHEN  found  in  it,  by  its  general  appear- 
ance, and  by  the  lignitic  traces  which  it  contains.  Fossils  appear 
to  be  very  scarce  in  this  formation,  and  they  are  mostly  in  a  bad 
state  of  preservation.  The  only  locality  where  any  have  been  found, 
to  my  knowledge,  is  close  to  Caledonia.  Those  which  have  been 
collected  there  are  in  so  poor  a  state  of  preservation  that  they  could 


PULASKI    COUNTY.  373 

not  be  determined  specifically.  The  silicified  wood,  which  has  also 
been  found  in  the  county,  has,  I  believe,  all  been  obtained  in  loose 
pieces  on  the  river  bank,  from  amongst  the  pebbles.* 

The  brown  sand  and  deposits  of  siliceous  pebbles  answer,  as  I 
have  stated  elsewhere,  very  nearly  to  the  description  given  of  the 
Orange  sand  in  Mississippi,  which  is  considered  as  probably  corres- 
ponding to  the  northern  drift ;  and  on  the  other  hand  they  resemble 
the  specimens  in  the  State  Cabinet  from  the  northern  part  of  the 
State,  which  are  labeled  as  "Drift  Conglomerate."  Still  I  entertain 
strong  doubts  whether  the  sand  and  pebbles,  including  the  Con- 
glomerate, belong  to  an  epoch  distinct  from  that  of  the  underlying 
shales.  We  have  seen  that  the  shales  contain  much  sand,  partly 
cemented  to  sandstone  by  oxide  of  iron.  Such  sand  and  sandstone 
can,  I  believe,  not  be  distinguished  from  those  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  deposits,  and  they  would  seem  to  owe  their  origin  to  the  same 
causes,  operating  in  undisturbed  succession.  The  flint  pebbles  com- 
posing these  deposits  are  different  from  the  material  of  which  the 
drift  boulders  are  made  farther  north.  The  northern  drift,  and  even 
its  southernmost  outliers,  contain  much  granite,  horn-blende  rock  and 
similar  rocks,  but  the  pebbles  in  question  are  all  composed  of 
impure  silex,  and  no  traces  of  granite  or  other  igneous  or  meta- 
morphic  rocks  has  been  found  amongst  them.  The  northern  drift 
extends  as  far  south  as  the  north  line  of  Union  county,  high  up, 
towards  the  water-shed  of  the  Mississippi,  or  rather  the  Big  Muddy 
and  the  Ohio.  No  trace  of  it  is  found  over  the  dividing  ridge  nor 
south  of  it,  and  only  in  the  latitude  of  Pulaski  county  we  have  these 
siliceous  pebbles.  If  they  should  date  from  the  Drift  period,  they 
must  have  been  derived  from  a  source  different  from  that  of  the 
northern  drift. 

Economical  Geology.          • 

• 

Coal. — Only  the  lowest  barren  portion  of  the  Carboniferous  forma- 
tion extends  into  Pulaski  county,  and  not  the  Coal  Measures ;  there- 
fore there  is  no  stone  coal  in  the  county.  In  the  Tertiary  strata  I 

*  The  fossils  from  the  Tertiary  deposits  in  this  county  consist  of  cast  of  marine  univalve 
and  bivalve  shells,  some  of  the  former  of  which  appear  to  be  casts  of  Turritella  Mortoni, 
and  would  indicate  the  Eocene  age  of  the  beds  in  which  they  occur.  A  single  shark's 
tooth  was  found  in  them,  but  this  is  not  now  in  the  collection.  The  specimens  of  fos  s 
wood  are  quite  abundant,  and  in  a  finely  silicifled  condition,  and  are  found  most  abundant 
in  the  ravines  intersecting  the  bluffs  and  at  a  considerable  elevation  above  the  gravel 
beach  of  the  river.  One  specimen  was  found  in  situ  in  a  gravel  bed  forty  or  fifty  feet 
above  the  river  level.  A.  H.  W. 


374  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

observed  at  several  points  thin  streaks  of  a  lignite  coal,  but  the 
prospects  are  by  no  means  favorable  for  a  paying  stratum  of  such 
coal,  to  be  found.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  moreover,  that  the 
coal  of  the  Tertiary  formation,  the  lignite  or  brown  coal,  as  it  is 
called,  differs  from  the  stone  coal  of  the  Coal  Measures,  in  con- 
taining much  more  water  in  chemical  combination,  and  consequently 
much  less  carbon,  and  that  it  hast  therefore,  a  much  smaller  heating 
power  than  the  stone  coal  proper. 

Minerals. — Of  metallic  ores  only  iron  ore  has  been  noticed,  which 
is  extensively  disseminated  through  the  sand  and  gravel  Conglom- 
erates, in  which  it  forms  the  cementing  material.  It  is  the  hydrous 
peroxyd  of  iron,  or  limonifce.  Pure,  I  found  it  only  in  small  pieces ; 
generally  it  is  more  or  less  strongly  mixed  with  sand  and  bound  to 
the  flint  pebbles.  Although  the  aggregate  quantity  of  it  must  be 
very  large,  it  appears  to  be  at  no  one  point  accumulated  in  suffi- 
cient quantity  and  purity  to  form  deposits  which  might  be  wrought 
with  profit.  I  have  mentioned  that  at  one  point,  in  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  17,  township  15,  range  1  east,  this  ore  occurs  in 
an  impure  state,  mixed  with  clay,  and  has  been  gathered  in  the 
branch  by  the  farmers  of  the  neighborhood,  who  use  it  as  paint, 
after  burning  it,  whereby  its  originally  yellowish-brown  color  is 
changed  to  red.  This  paint  can,  however,  be  manufactured  much 
more  cheaply  and  of  far  better  quality  than  it  can  be  here,  where 
the  quantity  appears  to  be  small. 

The  only  other  metallic  mineral  which  has  been  noticed  is  the 
sulphuret  of  iron,  the  marcasite,  which  is  disseminated  in  large 
quantities  through  some  of  the  Tertiary  shales,  in  which  it  forms 
irregular  concretions.  At  present  it  may  be  considered  as  perfectly 
useless,  but  at  some  future  time  it  may  serve  for  the  manufacture 
of  sulphur,  sulphuric  acid  or  alum.  It  decomposes  very  readily 
when  it  is  exposed  to  the  air,  and  it  is  from  it  that  the  numerous 
copperas  springs  of  this  formation  derive  their  mineral  element. 

The  milk  sickness  has,  at  one  point,  at  least,  near  the  edge  of 
Cache  river  bottoms,  been  traced  to  a  low  springy  place,  where  a 
salt  effervesced  from  the  ground.  After  fencing  this  place  the  sick- 
ness disappeared  from  the  neighborhood.  The  salt  seemed  to  have 
been  derived  from  the  decomposition  of  pyritiferous  clay. 

Mineral  Springs, — Besides  the  numerous  small  chalybeate  or  cop- 
peras springs  which  issue  directly  from  the  pyritiferous  Tertiary 
shales,  especially  at  the  foot  of  the  Ohio  bluffs,  there  are  some 
others  which  cannot,  with  the  same  degree  of  certainty,  be  referred 
to  the  same  origin.  Most  noticeable  are  those  in  the  bank  of  Cache 


PULASKI    COUNTY.  375 

river,  below  Ullin,  on  the  south  bank,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  34,  and  on  the  north  bank,  in  section  33  (?),  township  14, 
range  1  west.  The  water  of  these  springs  contains  much  sulphate 
of  iron,  and  perhaps,  also,  alum,  and  is  said  to  act  very  injuriously 
upon  the  bowels.  There  are  several  springs  close  together,  but  they 
are  not  equally  strong.  The  water  of  some  may  be  drank  without 
injury,  that  of  others  cannot. 

The  big  spring  at  Wetaug  is  not  a  mineral  spring,  but  a  good 
limestone  spring.  It  forms  a  funnel-shaped  basin,  some  30  feet  in 
diameter,  and  of  great  depth.  The  water  in  it  has  a  blue  color 
with  a  whitish  hue,  such  as  we  find  it  in  many  limestone  springs. 
It  discharges  a  considerable  amount  of  water,  which  forms  a  fine 
brook.  It  is  evidently  connected  with  sink-holes  and  caves  in  .the 
St.  Louis  limestone  formation,  in  which  it  is  situated,  and  its  size 
depends  upon  the  extent  of  the  area  thus  drained  by  it.  I  have  not 
observed  any  similar  springs  in  Illinois,  but  they  abound  in  the 
limestone  "formations  of  Southern  Missouri,  with  exactly  the  same 
features. 

Buildiny  Materials,  Potter's  Clay,  etc. — The  only  building  rock  in 
the  county  is  obtained  from  the  St.  Louis  limestone  formation,  and 
in  that  by  far  the  best  comes  from  the  lower  division,  the  outcrops 
of  which  have  been  enumerated  above.  From  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  county  good  building  stone  can  also  be  got  from  the  same  form- 
ation in  the  southwest  part  of  Johnson  county,  and  the  north- 
west part  of  Massac  county,  and  on  the  Ohio  from  above.  The  same 
quarries  may  be  depended  upon  for  a  good  lime.  Over  the  whole 
district,  where  stone  is  less  accessible,  brick  of  a  good  quality  may 
burnt  be  almost  anywhere  from  the  yellow  loam  which  forms  the 
soil  and  sub-soil  of  the  barren  region.  Also  in  the  bottom,  close  to 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  near  Mound  City  Junction,  large  quan- 
tities of  brick  are  manufactured  for  the  Cairo  market.  Good  sand 
for  building  purposes  can  be  obtained  at  many  points,  most  of  which 
have  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding  pages. 

The  argillaceous  shales  of  the  Tertiary  formation  yield  an  inex- 
haustible supply  of  superior  potter's  clay.  On  the  bank  of  the  Ohio 
river,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  2,  .township  15,  range  2 
east,  much  clay  has  been  obtained  for  the  pottery  at  Mound  City. 
Mr.  Koch,  the  proprietor  of  the  pottery  at  this  point,  assured  me 
that  the  clay  from  the  bank  of  Cache  river,  in  the  north  part  of 
section  18  (?),  township  16,  range  1  west,  was  a  very  fine  material 
to  work.  In  fact,  at  most  of  the  outcrops  of  the  Tertiary  argillaceous 
shales  from  Cache  river  to  the  Massac  county  line  we  find  some 


376  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

strata  which  appear  to  possess  the  requisite  qualities,  although  others 
are  too  much  mixed  with  sand,  stained  with  iron,  or  interspersed 
with  iron  pyrites. 

The  strata  of  white  arenaceous  silt,  or  shaly  laminated  sandstone, 
which  I  have  frequently  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  pages,  yield  at  some 
points  a  fine  sand,  which,  after  being  freed  from  a  few  coarser 
grains,  is  a  fine  material  for  scouring  tin-ware  and  the  like,  and 
needs  only  to  be  better  known  in  order  the  come  to  use.  Such  a 
point  is  on  a  ravine  on  the  Ohio,  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
county,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  12,  township  15,  range  2 
east,  close  to  section  1. 

The  siliceous  gravel  of  the  upper  division  of  the  formation  is  a 
superior  ballasting  material  for  railroads,  and  nothing  better  can  be 
got  for  improving  ordinary  roads.  From  the  cut  near  Villa-ridge 
the  southern  portion  of  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad  is  supplied  with 
this  ballast;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  company  would  gain  by 
extending  the  use  of  these  pebbles  farther  north. 

Agriculture. 

Under  the  head  of  "Surface  Configuration"  I  have  already  de- 
scribed the  character  of  the  land  and  the  growth  of  timber,  as  it 
changes  with  the  varying  quality  of  the  soil.  I  need  add  little 
more.  That  portion  of  the  country  which  is  underlaid  with  the  lime- 
stones (the  northern  and  especially  the  northwestern  portion)  has  a 
rich,  light,  warm  soil,  which  yields  the  most  ample  reward  for  the  labor 
bestowed  upon  it.  It  is  suited  to  nearly  every  crop  which  has  ever 
been  tried  on  it,  to  corn,  small  grain,  tobacco,  cotton,  and  others. 
The  southern  latitude  is  favorable  for  the  growth  of  all  kind  of 
early  fruit  and  vegetables  for  the  northern  market.  Strawberries 
have  already  been  raised  and  shipped  north  in  large  quantity.  I  am 
not  satisfied  that  orchards  will  do  equally  well.  The  trees  grow  finely, 
but  it  would  seem  to  me  that  the  situation  was  generally  rather  too 
low  and  exposed  to  frost,  which  might  occasionally  kill  the  more 
tender-budded  fruit,  and  render  the  fruit  crop  more  uncertain  than 
it  is  on  the  elevated  ridges  farther  north.  The  ridges  in  the  yellow 
loam  barrens  farther  south  will  probably  give  better  results  in  that 
respect. 

Of  the  wide  bottom  lands  along  Cache  river,  a  large  portion  is 
very  superior  land,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  growth  of  timber. 
The  low  bottom  ridges  or  swells  have  a  black  sandy  soil,  which  is 
more  or  less  mixed  with  clay,  and  they  produce  most  bountifully. 


PULASKI    COUNTY.  377 

They  are  above  the  flood  level,  but  are  generally  surrounded  by 
lower  land,  which  is  not  only  flooded  at  times  of  high  water,  but 
is  naturally  wet  and  impassable  during  a  large  part  of  the  year, 
cutting  off  communication  with  the  higher  land.  Pure,  healthy 
water  is  also  not  everywhere  to  be  had  on  these  ridges,  but  might 
be  supplied  by  cisterns.  The  greatest  obstacle  to  their  more  exten- 
sive cultivation  is  the  malaria  created  in  the  wide  surrounding 
swamps.  The  lower  portion  of  the  bottoms  has  also  a  fertile  but 
somewhat  heavy  soil,  though  they  cannot  be  cultivated  at  present. 
In  the  course  of  time  they  will  become  valuable.  The  large  saw- 
mills' along  the  railroad  consume  annually  thousands  of  stately  trees, 
and  the  wood-choppers  are  making  considerable  havoc  amongst  the 
bottom  timber.  The  removal  of  the  large  trees  has  a  drying  effect 
upon  the  land.  Places  which,  a  few  years  ago,  were  continually 
wet,  have  now  become  dry  land,  and  support  a  fine  growth  of  corn. 
This  influence  will  be  felt  more  and  more;  and  if,  in  the  course  of 
time,  the  channel  of  the  river  is  clear  of  obstructions,  and  rectified 
where  it  is  needed,  and  when  the  surface  is  broken  with  the  plow? 
large  stretches  of  swamp  land  will  be  reclaimed  and  converted  into 
a  fine  agricultural  district.  The  health  of  this  district  will  thus 
also  be  gradually  improved.  Some  attempts  have  been  made  towards 
draining  swamp  lands.  Some  years  ago  a  ditch  was  cut  from  Swan 
pond,  situated  in  sections  22,  23,  26  and  27,  township  14,  range  2  east, 
to  Post  creek,  which  empties  into  Cache  river,  in  order  to  lay  dry  the 
pond;  but  it  seems  that  those  who  planned  the  undertaking  were 
incompetent  for  the  task.  The  necessary  preliminary  levelings  seem 
not  to  have  been  executed  at  all,  or  badly  executed;  for  when  the 
ditch  had  been  cut,  it  was  found  that  the  flood  water  of  Cache 
river  would  pass  back  through  it  into  Swan  pound.  Accurate  topo- 
graphical surveys  will  be  required  for  determining  a  feasible  plan 
for  draining  the  swamp  lands  of  Cache  river. 

The  main  body  of  the  upland  of  Pulaski  county,  between  Cache 
and  Ohio  rivers,  presents  features  which  distinguish  it  from  all  the 
country  farther  north,  while  the  adjoining  county  of  Massac  con- 
tains similar  lands.  We  may  distinguish  it  as  the  yellow  loam 
region,  and  it  is  principally  occupied  by  oak  barrens,  a  description 
of  which  has  been  given  above.  The  soil  and  sub-soil  in  this  dis- 
trict are  a  yellow,  more  or  less  arenaceous  loam,  which  reaches  to 
a  considerable  depth.  The  oak  barrens  are  most  characteristically 
developed  where  the  loam  is  least  arenaceous  and  in  the  finest  state 
of  comminution ;  where  it  is  more  sandy,  more  white  oak,  and  then 
a  hickory  and  walnut  growth,  preponderate  over  the  barren  oak 


378  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

growth.  This  yellow  loam  barren  region  is  confined  to  and  co-exten- 
sive with  the  district  occupied  by  the  Tertiary  formation,  and  it  seems 
as  if  the  loam  was  mainly  derived  from  the  disintegration  of  the 
argillaceous  shales  and  arenaceous  silt  of  this  formation. 

The  soil  in  this  district  contains  all  the  elements  of  fertility,  and 
is  naturally  very  superior  where  it  has  sufficient  sand  mixed  in  it 
to  make  it  light.  Where  the  quantity  of  sand  is  less  it  is  apt  to  pack 
rather  close,  and  resembles,  in  that  respect,  the  soil  of  the  barrens 
within  the  district  of  the  coal  formation,  although  it  is  far  superior 
to  it.  The  sub-soil,  if  taken  from  a  depth  of  even  ten  or  fifteen,  or 
more,  feet,  needs  a  very  short  time  to  become  mellow,  and  then 
produces  'nearly  equally  well  with  the  upper  soil.  The  richness  of 
the  land  and  the  great  store  of  elements  of  fertility  can,  therefore, 
not  be  doubted.  All  that  is  needed  is  to  keep  it  well  stirred,  in 
order  to  prevent  it  from  becoming  too  compact,  and  to  cultivate 
deeply.  No  industrious  farmer  need  be  afraid  to  trust  such  a 
soil  with  his  labor:  he  may  be  certain  of  being  repaid,  with  large 
interest;  but  the  tendency  to  cultivate  overlarge  tracts  slovenly, 
proves  injurious  on  this  land,  and  it  is  therefore  by  many  regarded 
as  quite  inferior.  The  northern  emigrant,  used  to  a  more  thorough 
system  of  husbandry,  will  find  it  different.  Besides  grain,  tobacco 
and  cotton,  this  district  promises  well  for  fruit,  with  which  it  might 
probably  supply  the  northern  market  earlier  than  any  other  district 
in  the  State,  while  it  has  the  same  advantages  of  railroad  trans- 
portation with  the  orchards  of  Union  and  Jackson  counties. 


CHAPTEK    XYI. 


MASSAC  COUNTY,  AND  THAT  PART  OF  POPE  COUNTY  SOUTH 
OF  BIG  BAY  RIVER. 


BY  HENRY  ENGELMANN. 


Massac  county  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Ohio  river,  on  the 
west  by  Pulaski  county,  on  the  north  by  Johnson  county,  and  on 
the  northeast  and  east  by  Pope  county.  The  latter  county  line  runs 
from  Big  Bay  river,  first,  due  southeast  over  the  summit  of  a  dividing 
ridge  between  different  small  tributaries  of  Bay  and  Ohio  rivers, 
which  trend  towards  the  sharp  bend  of  the  Ohio,  known  as  the 
Black  Bend,  and  then  due  south  of  that  bend. 

The  adjoining  part  of  Pope  county,  which  I  propose  to  describe 
together  with  Massac  county,  because  both  naturally  belong  together, 
embraces  the  northeastern  slope  of  the  above  named  ridge,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  west  by  Massac  county,  on  the  north  by  Big  Bay 
river,  beyond  which  the  county  extends  a  considerable  distance  to 
the  northward,  and  on  the  east  by  the  Ohio  river.  At  the  south 
end  it  runs  into  a  point  between  the  Black  Bend  of  the  Ohio  and 
the  Massac  county  line. 

Massac  county  has  an  area  of  about  244  square  miles,  most  of 
which  is  more  or  less  elevated  timbered  upland,  while  a  small  por- 
tion of  it  is  occupied  by  a  succession  of  ponds,  cypress  swamps  and 
low  bottom  lands,  in  places  several  miles  in  width,  which  extend 
from  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county,  near  Cache  river,  first 
southeastward,  and  then  northeastward  to  Big  Bay  river,  near  the 
northeastern  corner  of  the  county.  In  the  extreme  southeastern  part 
of  the  county  we  also  find  wide  bottom  lands  and  cypress  swamps 
in  the  Black  Bend  of  the  Ohio. 


380  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  southern  part  of  Pope  county,  limited  as  above,  contains 
about  87  square  miles  of  territory,  most  of  which  is  hilly  and  broken, 
while  it  also  includes  some  bottom  lands,  mostly  studded  with  cypress 
swamps  and  ponds  along  Big  Bay  river  and  in  the  Black  Bend  of 
the  Ohio. 

Surface    Configuration. 

The  surface  configuration  and  growth  of  timber  vary  in  different 
parts  of  this  district,  with  the  geological  formations  and  their  rela- 
tive elevation.  The  northern  part  of  Massac  county,  enclosed  between 
the  Johnson  county  line  and  the  swamps  and  bottom  lands  which 
extend  from  Cache  to  Big  Bay  rivers,  constitutes  the  first  subdivision. 
It  is  considerably  elevated  and  underlaid  with  the  sandstones  and 
limestones  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  formation,  and  therefore 
resembles,  in  every  respect,  the  adjoining  southwestern  part  of  John- 
son county.  At  its  southern  margin,  facing  the  bottom  lands,  it 
forms  precipitous,  high  and  rocky  bluffs,  while  the  ridge,  except  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  creeks  and  their  branches,  affords  fine,  open 
farming  lands,  with  a  good,  light  and  warm  soil,  covered  with  a 
heavy  growth  of  good  timber,  consisting  mainly  of  white  oak,  black 
oak,  barren  hickory,  pignut  hickory,  black  gum,  some  yellow  poplar, 
sugar  maple,  mulberry,  scaly- bark  hickory,  etc. 

The  second  subdivision  embraces  the  swamps  and  the  low  ridges 
adjoining  the  same.  These  swamps  are  formed  by  a  succession  pf 
ponds  and  cypress  and  ash  swamps,  which  extend  from  the  north- 
western corner  of  Massac  county,  from  Cache  river,  in  a  semi-circle 
round  the  uplands  to  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  county,  to  Big 
Bay  river,  and  continue  along  the  latter  stream  through  Pope  county 
to  the  Ohio  river.  They  are  surrounded  by  low,  wet  flats,  which  are 
intersected  with  slightly  elevated  ridges  and  swells.  Bound  their 
margin  we  find  frequently  similar  low  ridges  or  gentle  slopes  between 
them  and  the  higher  hills  of  the  foregoing  and  following  subdivision, 
although  at  other  points  the  bluffs  rise  at  the  very  edge  of  the 
ponds.  The  width  of  this  belt  of  low  lands  varies  between  a  mile 
and  a-half  and  four  miles.  Its  outlines  are  quite  irregular.  Single 
ponds,  connected  with  the  main  body  by  bayous,  or  merely  by  low 
depressions  of  the  ground,  extend  as  outliers  far  in  between  the 
higher  hills. 

This  series  of  swamps  seems  to  have  no  fall  in  either  direction. 
The  water  which  they  contain  is  the  result  of  the  local  falls  of  rain, 
and  of  the  natural  drainage  of  the  immediately  adjoining  country, 


MASSAC   AND   POPE    COUNTIES.  381 

by  several  ravines  and  small  creeks  which  empty  into  the  same,  but 
which  seldom  preserves  a  well  marked  channel  after  entering  this 
district.  Another  portion  of  tHe  water  is  derived  from  the  overflows 
of  Cache  and  Big  Bay  rivers.  When  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rise, 
they  back  up  the  water  of  these  tributaries,  so  that  when  heavy 
rains  fall  along  their  upper  course,  the  drainage  is  so  much  impeded 
that  they  overflow  their  banks  and  immediate  bottoms,  and  pour 
their  floods  into  these  swamps.  Thus  it  happens  that  at  times  the 
drainage  appears  to  be  from  Cache  river  by  these  swamps  to  Bay 
river  and  the  Ohio,  and  at  others  from  Bay  river  to  Cache  river. 
Only  a  comparatively  small  portion  of  them  is  permanently  covered 
with  water.  A  larger  area  is  occupied  by  cypress  ponds,  with  an 
exceedingly  spongy  soil,  which  is,  during  part  of  the  year,  saturated 
with  water,  and  almost  always  soft  and  wet.  The  main  body  con- 
sists of  low,  wet  land,  hardly  elevated  above  the  cypress  ponds, 
which  forms  extensive  flats  round  the  swamps,  and  is  intersected 
with  slightly  elevated  ridges  or  swells,  that  have  generally  a  more 
arenaceous,  light  and  highly  productive  soil,  and  reach  above  the 
annual  overflows.  Similar  low  ridges,  terminating  in  gentle  slopes, 
separate  the  swamps  at  many  points,  from  the  higher  hills. 

The  adjoining  bluffs  appear  once  to  have  been  washed  by  a  pow- 
erful stream,  which  gave  them  their  present  bold  outlines.  The 
sandy  ridges  correspond  to  those  found  in  the  Mississippi  bottom  in 
Alexander  county,  and  in  the  Ohio  bottom  in  this  district,  and  are 
the  result  of  former  currents,  ancient  sandbars,  or  other  accumula- 
tions of  river  sand,  frequently  caused  in  the  first  place  by  ledges  of 
hard  rock  which  obstructed  the  current,  and  are  found  at  various 
points  in  digging  wells,  although  they  do  not  crop  out.  The  exte- 
rior ridges  have  all  a  rock  foundation.  The  flats  then  are  formed 
by  deposits  of  the  finer  river  silt  during  overflows  after  the  stream 
had  sought  a  new  channel.  The  wet  character  of  this  land  is  due, 
not  to  its  absolutely  too  low  situation,  but  to  a  deficiency  of  natural 
drainage,  which  fault  might  be  remedied  by  artificial  improvements, 
foremost  of  which  would  be  the  cutting  of  drains  and  the  building 
of  dams  to  keep  out  the  water  overflowing  from  the  Cache  and  Big 
Bay  rivers. 

This  whole  subdistrict  is  very  heavily  timbered.  The  growth  is 
the  same  as  on  corresponding  lands  in  Pulaski  and  Johnson  coun- 
ties. In  the  swamps  we  find  principally  the  bald  cypress  and  the 
tupelo  gum,  also  the  white  ash  and  some  of  the  following  trees.  On 
a  little  drier  ground  on  the  flats,  we  meet,  with  varying  relative 
frequency,  the  sweet  gum,  hornbeam,  white  ash,  maple,  white  elm, 


882  ECONOMICAL 'GEOLOGY  OF  ILLINOIS. 

water  oak,  pecan,  Spanish  oak,  swamp  white  oak,  bur  oak,  red  oak, 
white  oak,  scaly-bark  hickory,  pignut  hickory,  and  some  yellow  pop- 
lar, sugar  maple,  winged  elm,  beech*,  and  others.  The  beech  was 
especially  noticed  near  Eobinet  creek. 

On  the  sandy  ridges  the  growth  is  very  heavy,  and  consists  prin- 
cipally of  white  oak,  red  oak,  yellow  poplar,  sugar  maple,  mixed 
with  others  of  the  above  mentioned  trees  which  thrive  on  drier  and 
richer  soil.  On  the  exterior  ridges  and  adjoining  slopes,  much  the 
same  timber  is  found  as  on  the  sandy  ridges.  The  white  oak  pre- 
vails, together  with  yellow  poplar,  sweet  gum,  sugar  maple,  common 
maple,  black  and  white  walnut,  scaly-bark  hickory,  pignut  hickory, 
black  gum,  Spanish  oak,  black  oak,  scarlet  oak,  red  bud,  paw-paw, 
etc.  Cane  used  to  nourish  over  this  whole  region,  but  is  fast  being 
destroyed  by  cattle. 

The  third  sub-division  embraces  the  bottom  lands  along  the  Ohio 
river.  The  principal  bottom  is  that  in  the  Black  Bend,  in  the  south 
east  corner  of  Massac  and  the  south  point  of  Pope  counties,  mainly 
situated  in,  and  occupying,  the  south  part  of  township  16,  ranges  6 
and  7.  This  bottom  much  resembles  the  above  described  swamp 
district.  It  also  presents  long  lines  of  sloughs  and.  cypress  ponds, 
sandy  ridges  and  low  flats.  The  yearly  floods  of  the  Ohio  sweep 
clear  over  it  to  a  depth  of  several  feet.  The  timber  there  is  very 
fine,  consisting,  on  the  sandy  portions,  principally  of  the  swamp 
white  oak,  scaly-bark  hickory,  blue-bark  oak,  besides  black  walnut, 
sugar  maple,  some  bur  oak,  a  few  yellow  poplar,  and,  at  wetter 
points,  of  water  oak,  sweet  gum,  ash,  etc.  In  the  bottom  flats, 
which  have  a  more  tenaceous  soil,  and  generally  a  lower  situation, 
the  forest  is  also  fine,  heavy,  tall  and  dense,  and  consists  prevail- 
ingly of  the  swamp  white  oak,  Spanish  oak,  water  oak,  sweet  gum, 
some  white  elm,  scaly-bark  hickory,  and  of  large  numbers  of  a 
curious  variety  of  the  barren  hickory,  which  latter  is  generally  con- 
fined to  rather  dry  uplands,  while  this  bottom  variety  attains  a  larger 
growth  and  somewhat  resembles  the  scaly-bark  hickory.  I  have  not,  thus 
far,  observed  it  anywhere  else.  The  swamps  proper  are  timbered 
with  the  cypress,  tupelo  gum,  pecan,  and  a  few  other  trees,  and 
frequently  are  merged  into  the  flats  by  gradations. 

A  fine  alluvial  bottom  extends,  also,  along  the  Ohio  from  a  mile 
and  a  half  below  the  mouth  of  Big  Bay  river  to  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Cumberland  river.  It  is  generally  narrow,  and  only 
expands  to  the  width  of  a  mile  near  Dog  creek.  Below  the  Black 
Bend,  the  Ohio  forms  hardly  any  bottoms  in  Massac  county.  It  is 
mostly  confined  by  low  bluff  banks,  with  a  gravelly  beach  at  their 


MASSAC   AND   POPE    COUNTIES.  383 

'  H  ^ 

base.  The  narrow  strips  of  bottom  land  are  principally  timbered 
with  willow,  sycamore,  silver-maple,  cotton-wood,  ash,  pecan,  box- 
elder,  etc. 

We  now  come  to  the  fourth,  last  and  principal  division  of  this 
district,  embracing  all  the  uplands  between  the  Ohio  and  the  second 
and  third  divisions.  The  configuration  of  this  area,  is  by  no  means 
uniform,  but  shows  considerable  variations  of  surface  structure  and 
growth.  A  large  portion  of  it  is  occupied  by  the  yellow  loam  lands 
which  I  have  described  in  the  report  on  Pulaski  county,  but  they 
gradually  change  into  allied  formations. 

In  the  extreme  western  part  of  the  county  the  ridge  is  rather 
narrow  and  sharply  broken,  but  becomes  more  rolling  and  open  a 
little  father  east;  and,  wherever  it  is  less  cut  up  by  the  numerous 
ravines,  running  northward  to  the  swamps  and  southward  to  the 
Ohio.  The  soil  is  the  above  described  yellow  loam,  and  the  prin- 
cipal growth  is  white  oak,  black  oak,  barren  oak  (sour  oak,  an 
upland  variety  of  the  Spanish  oak),  a  few  post  oak,  barren  hickory, 
pignut  hickory,  walnut,  sumac  and  sassafras.  In  the  southeast 
part  of  township  15,  range  4,  northwest  of  Metropolis,  portions  of 
the  ridge  are  more  level,  at  the  same  time  generally  decreasing  in 
altitude ;  and  then  the  post  oak  begins  to  prevail,  and  the  land 
gradually  changes  to  post  oak  flats. 

The  rolling  yellow  loam  oak  barrens  continue  eastward  to  the  last 
line  of  range  4,  and  beyond,  near  the  south  and  main  forks  of 
Massac  creek,  in  the  north  part  of  township  15,  range  5,  and  in  the 
south  part  of  township  14,  range  5,  and  even  across  the  ridge  to 
the  upper  course  of  Kobinet  creek,  in  Pope  county,  in  the  southeast 
corner  of  township  14,  range  5,  where  the  oak  brush  is  generally 
quite  small,  and  the  tall  barren  grass,  the  original  growth  of  the 
yellow  loam  lands,  still  prevails.  Similar  barrens  I  noticed  north 
of  the  broken  ridge  to  be  mentioned  hereafter,  near  the  upper 
course  of  Bear  creek,  in  section  20,  township  14,  range  5,  and  in 
adjoining  sections.  In  this  eastern  extension  of  the  oak  barrens 
the  principal  growth  is  still  the  barren  oak  and  post  oak,  with 
some  black  oak,  barren  hickory,  sassafras,  hazel  and  sumac,  inter- 
woven with  grape  vines.  Where  the  land  is  more  broken,  and 
sandy  sub-strata  happen  to  reach  near  the  surface,  the  black  oak 
becomes  more  numerous,  and  some  white  oak  is  found;  at  other 
points  the  laurel  oak,  and  especially  where  the  gravelly  sub-strata 
approach  the  surface,  and  from  this  or  other  causes  the  soil  is 
drier,  the  black-jack  is  found. 


384  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

A  sharply  broken  ridge,  the  summit  of  which  is  underlaid  with  a 
conglomerate  of  siliceous  pebbles,  extends  from  the  southern  edge 
of  the  swamps  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  township  15,  range  4, 
northeastward  round  Massac  creek  through  the  southeast  corner  of 
township  14,  range  4,  then  through  sections  21,  30,  29,  28,  27,  26, 
and  others  of  township  14,  range  5,  then  much  less  sharply  denned 
round  the  head  of  Massac  creek,  and  again  from  the  northwest 
corner  southeastward  through  township  15,  range  6,  terminating  in 
the  extreme  northeastern  corner  of  township  16,  range  6,  and  in 
the  northwest  part  of  township  16,  range  7.  Where  this  ridge  is 
most  developed  it  is  very  dry;  the  soil  is  sandy  and  changes  down- 
ward into  a  hard  and  rough,  yellow  loam,  and  the  timber  is  exclu- 
sively black-jack:  but  where  the  ridge  is  wider,  and  consequently 
less  sharply  broken,  post  oak  and  black  oak  are  associated  with  it. 
On  these  wider  portions  of  the  ridge,  and  in  the  bottoms  at  the  foot 
of  the  breaks,  we  find  thrifty  settlements  of  mostly  German  farmers, 
who,  by  their  industry  and  hard  labor,  have  reclaimed  a  country 
which,  to  the  southern  emigrant,  appeared  a  barren  wilderness. 

South  of  this  dividing  ridge,  especially  in  the  southwest  part  of 
township  15,  range  6,  also  some  distance  south  of  the  south  fork  of 
Massac  creek,  in  the  middle  of  township  15,  range  5,  and  extending 
into  the  northeast  corner  of  township  16,  range  6,  the  hills  are  con- 
siderably lower,  sharply  rolling,  and  timbered  mainly  with  black- 
jack, post  oak,  barren  oak,  barren  hickory,  black  oak,  hazel,  sumac, 
etc.  Still  farther  south  and  west  these  hills  gradually  fall  off  and 
change  into  finely  undulating  post  oak  flats,  the  surface  of  which  is 
sufficiently  diversified  to  afford  natural  drainage,  and  which  are 
amongst  the  best  cultivated  lands  in  the  county.  We  find  them 
especially  in  the  south  part  of  township  15,  range  5,  reaching  a 
short  distance  south  of  the  town  line,  into  township  16,  and  in  the 
northwest  part  of  township  16,  range  6.  They  are  timbered  mainly 
with  large  scattering  post  oak  and  some  black  oak  and  Spanish 
barren  oak,  and  their  soil  is  whitish,  very  finely  arenaceous,  and 
contains  ferruginous  grains ;  it  can  hardly  be  called  an  arenaceous 
loam.  The  flats  vary,  however,  in  quality.  At  some  points  where, 
locally,  the  soil  is  coarse  and  sandy,  for  example,  in  the  west  part 
of  section  31,  township  15,  range  5,  or  where  the  surface  is  broken 
near  ravines,  I  observed,  mainly,  white  oak,  black  oak,  pignut 
hickory,  Spanish  oak,  and  a  few  post  oak;  generally,  however,  the 
post  oak,  black  oak  and  barren  oak  are  associated  with  barren 
hickory,  hazel,  sumac,  some  winged  elm,  and  at  lower  points  with 
scaly-bark  hickory,  laurel  oak  and  water  oak. 


MASSAC   AND    POPE    COUNTIES.  385 

Still  further  south,  towards  the  Ohio  or  the  Ohio  bottom,  from 
Massac  creek  east  to  New  Liberty,  the  post  oak  lands  gradually 
become  lower,  and  are  mostly  below  the  flood  level  of  the  Ohio,  so 
that  they  are  annually  inundated,  which,  together  with  their  level 
surface  configuration,  renders  them  wet;  and  their  soil,  although  it 
is  arenaceous,  is  not  sufficiently  coarse  to  afford  an  easy  drainage. 
The  principal  growth  on  these  wet  flats  is  post  oak,  water  oak, 
Spanish  oak,  laurel  oak,  some  black  oak,  barren  hickory,  scaly-bark 
hickory,  sweet  gum  and  similar  trees.  North  of  Brooklyn  I  observed 
numerous  willow  oak  (Q.  phellos),  a  tree  which  I  have  seen  no 
where  else  in  Illinois.  Part  of  these  woods  are  open,  free  of  under- 
growth, and  the  ground  nearly  bare  of  grass ;  others  have  a  dense 
undergrowth  of  the  same  trees. 

That  portion  of  the  uplands  remains  to  be  described  which  lies 
northeast  of  the  above  mentioned  broken  dividing  ridge,  or,  in  other 
words,  the.  uplands  in  the  southern  part  of  Pope  county.  They  dif- 
fer from  the  uplands  of  Massac  county,  west  of  the  ridge,  in  that 
they  are  underlaid  with  limestones  and  sandstone  of  the  lower 
Carboniferous  series,  which  crop  out  on  all  the  creeks  and  frequently 
form  high,  abrupt  and  rocky  bluffs  on  these  creeks,  and  towards  the 
Big  Bay  and  Ohio  rivers.  'Only  the  very  summit  of  this  upland' 
which  continues  high  to  the  edge  of  these  bluffs,  is  underlaid  with 
the  Tertiary  Conglomerate,  and  some  others  of  the  more  recent 
deposits.  This  whole  district  is,  therefore,  roughly  broken,  but  on 
the  summit  of  the  ridges  which  extend  between  the  different  creeks 
and  branches,  there  are  fine  bodies  of  agricultural  lands,  the  timber 
on  which  varies  with  the  quality  and  depth  of  the  soil.  At  some 
points  white  oak  and  black  oak  prevail;  at  others,  black  oak  and 
post  oak;  and  where  the  soil  is  more  shallow  and  drier,  which  is 
the  case  over  a  large  portion  of  the  ridge,  post  oak  and  black-jack 
are  most  numerous,  together  with  some  barren  oak,  barren  hickory, 
and  trees  of  an  allied  growth.  At  the  lower  end  of  the  slopes, 
especially  over  the  limestones  referred  to,  the  growth  is  similar  to 
that  of  the  northern  part  of  Massac  county. 

I  will  close  this  division  of  the  chapter  with  a  few  remarks  upon 
the  creeks.  In  the  western  part  of  Massac  county  the  water 
courses  are  not  long,  and  therefore  small.  In  the  eastern  part  of 
the  district  we  find  some  considerable  creeks.  Those  in  the  last 
described  region,  east  of  the  dividing  ridge,  have  mostly  narrow 
valleys,  with  steep  and  frequent  rocky  slopes.  Thus  the  bottom  of 
Eobinet  creek  widens  only  on  its  lower  course,  to  an  eighth  of  a 
—25 


386  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

mile,  and  while  higher  up  it  was  exceedingly  brushy,  it  is  then 
timbered  with  fine  white  oak,  red  oak  (the  blue  bark  variety),  swamp 
white  oak,  sugar  tree,  yellow  poplar,  a  few  beech,  etc.  The  bottom 
of  Barren  creek  is  only  a  little  wider,  and  otherwise  similar.  Dog 
creek  has  hardly  any  bottom  land,  and  at  many  points  has  the 
appearance  of  a  rocky  mountain  ravine.  Along  Elkhorn  creek  softer 
limestones  prevail,  and  it  has,  therefore,  more  bottoms  and  arable 
slopes  along  its  course.  On  the  west  side  of  the  ridge  hardly  any 
rocks  are  exposed  along  the  creeks,  which,  therefore,  have  quite  a 
different  character.  Massac  creek,  in  its  upper  course,  forms  merely 
a  slightly  depressed  ravine  between  sloping  hills,  with  a  little  bottom 
land,  which  is  generally  brushy.  Where  it  has  assumed  its  southern 
course,  the  bottom,  for  a  long  distance,  averages  about  half  a  mile 
in  width,  is  little  depressed  except  below  the  adjoining  uplands,  and 
principally  timbered  with  white  swamp  oak,  water  oak,  laurel  oak, 
bluebark  oak,  sweet  gum,  maple  and  similar  trees.  At  their  mouths 
most  of  the  creeks  emptying  into  the  Ohio  river  assume  the  appear- 
ance of  bayous. 

Geological   Formations. 

The  geological  formations  which  outcrop  at  the  surface,  in  this  and 
the  adjoining  portion  of  Pope  county,  comprise  the  St.  Louis  group, 
and  the  •  Chester  group  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series,  and  the 
Tertiary  formation.  They  form  the  continuation  of  the  same  strata 
already  described  in  the  report  on  Johnson  and  Pulaski  counties. 
The  lower  Carboniferous  strata  occupy,  exclusively,  that  portion  of 
Massac  county  north  of  the  swamps,  and  extejid  across  them  nearly 
all  around  their  southern  margin,  and  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
Massac  county,  and  further  on,  in  Pope  county,  they  form  the  bluffs 
along  the  Bay  river  bottoms,  and  along  the  Ohio,  and  reach  several 
miles  inland,  southwestward,  cropping  out  on  all  the  creeks  of  that 
section.  They  terminate  on  the  Ohio,  near  New  Liberty,  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  bottoms  of  the  Black  Bend.  Close  to  the  southwest 
corner  of  Massac,  in  Pulaski  county,  they  are  again  exposed  in  the 
bank  of  the  Ohio,  and  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  they  extend 
underground  nearly  all  under  the  county;  but  between  the  two  last 
named  points  they  do  not  reach  above  the  low  water  of  the  Ohio, 
and  have  not  been  struck  in  digging  wells.  The  Tertiary  strata  occupy 
the  higher  portion  of  the  upland  along  the  southern  edge  of  the 
swamps  and  Bay  river  bottoms,  and  continue  thence  uninterruptedly 
to  the  Ohio,  along  the  south  side  of  the  district,  apparently  dipping  in 
that  direction. 


MASSAC   AND   POPE     COUNTIES.  387 

In  the  report  on  Johnson  county,  I  have  demonstrated  that  the  dip 
of  the  lower  Carboniferous  strata  was,  with  considerable  regularity, 
to  north  and  northeastward.  On  the  whole,  it  remains  unchanged  in 
this  district.  Below  the  mouth  of  Bay  river  we  find,  however,  one 
or  more  faults  in  this  formation ;  that  is,  fractures  of  the  strata, 
combined  with  relative  displacement  of  the  two  parts,  and  a  separa- 
tion of  formerly  contiguous  portions  of  the  formation,  whereby  the 
natural  sequence  of  the  strata  is,  of  course,  entirely  disturbed. 

The  geological  formations  of  the  district  are,  therefore,  the  follow- 
ing, in  descending  order: 

1.  Tertiary  formations. 

2.  Chester  group. 

3.  St.  Louis  group. 

The  St.  Louis  group  consists  of  various  limestones,  some  of  which 
are  oolitic.  Its  exposed  thickness  may  be  set  down  at  75  feet;  but 
its  aggregate  thickness  is  undoubtedly  much  greater. 

In  order  to  properly  understand  the  geological  structure  of  the  dis- 
trict, it  will  be  well  to  recall  to  mind  the  sections  of  the  strata  close 
to  the  Massac  and  Johnson  county  line,  at  Indian  Point  and  farther 
eastward,  which  I  have  given  in  detail  in  the  report  of  Johnson  county, 
for  which  see  pages  381  and  386  of  a  preceding  chapter. 

From  this  point  southeastward,  the  upland  continues  capped  by  the 
sandstone  No.  8,  but  at  the  base  of  the  bluffs  limestone  may  be 
traced,  extending  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the  upland,  in  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  29,  township  14,  range  4. 

From  the  cliff  measured  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  3,  town- 
ship 13,  range  3,  the  strata  dip  eastward  towards  Clifty  creek,  so  that 
on  the  west  side  of  section  1,  only  traces  of  the  limestone  were 
observed  at  the  base  of  the  hill,  which  consisted  mainly  of  the  sand- 
stone No.  8.  Close  to  the  county  line  I  observed,  in  the  bank  of 
Clifty  creek,  a  ledge  of  sandstone,  and  heavy  ledges  of  the  same  a 
little  higher  up  the  creek.  Between  these  two  outcrops  I  noticed 
some  large  slabs  of  a  limestone  similar  to  No.  9,  and  I  am  not  cer- 
tain whether  these  form  a  local  intercalation  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
sandstone  No.  8,  or  whether  they  really  represent  No.  9,  much  reduced 
in  thickness.  South  from  this  point,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  12,  I  observed  considerable  masses  of  sandstone  on  the  bank 
of  the  creek,  at  the  edge  of  a  low  bottom  ridge.  I  believe  this  to 
belong  to  No.  10  of  the  Chester  series,  although  it  was  not  repre- 
sented in  the  measured  sections  east  of  Indian  Point.  Possibly  the 
rock  may  be  tumbling  masses  of  No.  8. 


388  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Southeast  from  this,  on  the  east  side  of  section  12,  the  bluffs 
exhibit  considerable  outcrops  of  limestone,  and  their  higher  portion 
consists  of  sandstone  No.  8.  The  limestone  is  probably  No.  9,  with, 
perhaps,  some  St.  Louis  limestone  strata  at  the  base.  Low  bottom 
ridges  between  the  bluffs  and  swamps,  in  sections  12  and  13,  and  in 
the  adjoining  section  18,  are  undoubtedly  underlaid  with  the  St. 
Louis  limestone. 

Sandy  creek  passes  through  the  sandstone  No.  8  down  to  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  17,  township  14,  range  4.  Farther  south,  the 
sandstone  is  only  exposed  in  the  upper  part  of  the  hills,  while  their 
base,  which  is  covered  with  soil,  must  be  underlaid  with  No.  9  of 
the  Chester  series,  and  perhaps  the  topmost  layers  of  the  St.  Louis 
formation. 

The  last  outcrop  of  limestone  was  observed  in  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  30  (?),  when  the  sandstone,  in  consequence  of  its  dip, 
reaches  down  to  the  edge  of  the  swamp.  The  limestone  seems,  how- 
ever, to  continue  some  miles  farther  near  the  water  lever — at  least, 
some  hard-water  springs  at  the  foot  of  the  bluffs,  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  16,  appear  to  point  to  this  conclusion. 

I  have  stated  before  that  the  St.  Louis  limestone  extends  south 
of  the  swamps,  cropping  out  at  various  points  round  their  margin, 
generally  capped  by  much  more  recent  formations,  and  probably 
extending  at  no  great  depth  all  under  the  western  part  of  Massac 
county.  The  first  outcrop  of  an  older  rock,  east  of  the  Pulaski  county 
line,  is  found  at  the  edge  of  the  swamp  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  18,  township  14,  range  3.  It  is  a  small  exposure  of  a  quartzose, 
finely-grained  sandstone,  probably  corresponding  to  No.  10  of  the 
Chester  series,  although  its  precise  age  can  only  be  surmised,  as 
the  rock  is  found  far  away  from  other  outcrops,  and  contains  no 
fossils. 

At  the  bottom  of  a  well,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  19,  25 
feet  below  the  surface,  much  chert  was  found  similar  to  that  derived 
from  some  portions  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  bat  that  this  formation  would  have  been  struck  by  digging  a 
few  feet  deeper.  The  first  outcrop  of  it  was,  however,  found  some 
miles  from  there,  on  a  slough  near  Cache  river,  in  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  8,  township  14,  range  4.  The  rock  is  about  20 
feet  thick,  partly  close-textured,  gray,  sub-conchoidal  and  full  of 
nodules  of  chert,  partly  crystalline  and  oolitic.  It  contains  some  fos- 
sils. Thence,  southeastward,  I  observed*  more  exposures  of  similar 
rocks  along  the  edge  of  the  swamps,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 9,  in  the  north  part  of  section  16,  near  the  middle  of  the  south 


•MASSAC    AND  POPE    COUNTIES.  389 

half  of  section  15,  and  on  a  bottom  ridge  across  a  slough  in  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  15.  A  fine  large  spring,  such  as  we  have 
frequently  found  in  connection  with  caves  and  sink-holes  of  this 
formation,  was  noticed  near  the  centre  of  section  16.  The  most  promi- 
nent bluff  of  this  limestone  was,  however,  observed  still  farther  on, 
east  of  the  centre  of  section  22.  The  limestone  reaches  there  to  an 
altitude  of  53  feet,  and  chert  continues  higher  up,  indicating  that 
the  limestone  also  reaches  higher  than  it  is  actually  exposed.  The 
rock  here  is  heavily  bedded,  very  compact  and  not  oolitic,  but  farther 
south,  in  section  22,  and  in  the  north  part  of  section  27,  where  the 
bluff  is  much  lower,  we  find  white  oolitic  ledges,  and  above  them  the 
gray,  close-textured,  uncrystalline  limestone,  with  sub-conchoidal 
and  splintery  fracture,  which  has  been  observed  farther  north. 

Thence  on,  no  more  signs  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone  were  dis- 
covered for  several  miles.  On  the  rolling  poplar  hills,  near  the 
middle  of  the  west  side  of  section  1.  township  15,  range  3,  I  observed 
a  sink-hole,  which  is  an  unfailing  sign  of  limestones  as  sub-strata ; 
and  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  adjoining  section  6,  township  15, 
range  4,  a  well  has  calcareous  water,  which  confirms  my  conclusion 
that  the  low  ridges  about  there  are  all  underlaid  with  this  limestone. 
The  next  point  where  it  has  been  actually  discovered  is,  however, 
farther  northeast,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  34,  township  14, 
range  4,  where,  on  one  of  the  low  bottom  ridges,  Mr.  C.  D.  Morse 
dug  a  well,  in  which  he  passed  through  20  feet  of  soil  and  clay  and 
then  54^  feet  of  solid  gray,  sub-crystalline  limestone,  before  he  got 
water. 

Two  miles  farther  northeast,  in  the  west  part  of  section  23,  town- 
ship 14,  range  4,  the  sandstone  No.  8  forms  prominent  bluffs  at  the 
edge  of  the  swamps.  The  base  of  these  bluffs  is  covered  with  a  talus, 
but  some  calcareous  springs,  especially  in  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  23,  seem  to  indicate  the  presence  of  limestone  at  the  base  of 
the  hills.  These  may,  however,  belong  to  No.  9  of  the  Chester 
series.  The  St.  Louis  limestone  formation  then  dips  underground 
and  is  covered  by  rocks  of  the  Chester  series.  The  next  point  where 
it  rises  again  to  the  surface  is  12  miles  farther  east,  on  the  lower 
course  of  Bay  river. 

Near  the  middle  of  section  22,  township  14,  range  6,  in  Pope  county, 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  below  the  lower  bridge  over  Bay  river,  it 
crops  out  at  the  lower  end  of  a  ravine  near  the  west  bank  of  the 
river,  only  a  few  feet  thick,  and  capped  by  a  great  thickness  of  the 
sandstone  No.  8.  Farther  down  the  river,  near  the  southwest  corner 
of  section  23,  the  limestone  has  attained  a  height  of  40  or  50  feet. 


390  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

It  continues  rising  through  section  26,  where  it  contains  numerous 
sink-holes,  and  across  a  branch  into  section  35.  The  rock  is  partly 
crystalline  and  light  grayish,  partly  darker  gray  in  color,  and  close- 
textured,  with  a  rather  uneven  fracture,  and  resembles  equivalent 
strata  in  the  northwest  part  of  Massac  county,  only  that  it  is  a  little 
more  granular  in  texture.  In  some  portions,  an  oolitic  structure  can 
be  recognized.  It  contains  some  thin  intercalations  of  shales.  Nos. 
9  and  10  of  the  Chester  series  were  not  recognized  in  this  vicinity. 
They  have  apparently  become  purely  calcareous,  and  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish from  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  as  also  on  the  Ohio,  below 
Golconda. 

At  Mr.  M.  Bird's,  near  the  centre  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 26,  large  masses  of  a  highly  cemented  sand-rock  are  found  at  the 
foot  of  the  higher  bluffs,  far  below  the  upper  layers  of  the  limestone. 
They  contain  crystals  of  violet  fluor  spar,  a  mineral  which  is  not 
found  anywhere  else  in  our  State,  except  farther  east  in  Hardin 
county,  where  it  forms  the  gangue  of  lead  veins,  and  at  a  few  other 
points  in  Pope  county.  It  is  said  that  some  fragments  of  galena 
were  found  at  the  same  place,  but  Mr.  Bird  himself  is  not  fully  satis- 
fied of  the  truth  of  this  statement.  I  will  refer  to  this  question  again, 
under  the  head  of  "Economical  Geology.",  The  sandstone  appears  to 
have  tumbled  down  from  the  higher  hills,  and  to  have  escaped  dis- 
integration by  its  great  hardness. 

The  St.  Louis  limestone  does  not  extend  south  of  the  north  part 
of  section  35,  township  14,  range  6.  There,  it  is  cut  off  by  a  fault 
which  would  seem  to  throw  it  down  on  its  south  side  to  a  depth  of 
several  hundred  feet.  On  the  east  side  of  Bay  river  the  St.  Louis 
and  the  lowest  Chester  limestone  continue  to  form  the  lower  part  of 
the  bluffs  of  the  Ohio,  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  8,  until  they 
dip  under  the  water  level  a  mile  and  a  quarter  below  Golconda,  in 
the  north  part  of  section  31,  township  13,  range  7;  but  they  rise  up 
again  close  to  the  Hardin  county  line. 

South  of  the  fault  the  strata  still  dip  more  or  less  to  the  north- 
ward. The  St.  Louis  limestone,  therefore,  reaches  the  surface  again 
some  six  miles  farther  south,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland 
river.  At  times  of  low  water  some  ledges  of  it  may  be  seen  in  the 
bed  of  the  Ohio,  above  as  well  as  below  the  mouth  of  Dog  creek,  in 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  34,  township  15,  range  7 ;  and  a 
mile  and  a  half  farther  south,  at  the  former  site  of  Hammelsburg, 
in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  10,  township  16,  range  7,  it  may 
be  seen  in  a  ravine  close  to  the  river,  with  an  exposed  thickness  of 
20  feet.  It  is  there  partly  the  white  oolitic  rock,  partly  light  gray 


MASSAC   AND   POPE   COUNTIES.  391 

and  very  close-textured,  with  conchoidal  fracture  and  brittle.  The 
higher  sandstone  is  not  exposed,  but  some  loose  pieces  of  it  strewn 
on  the  slope  indicate  its  presence.  This  is  the  last  outcrop  of  the 
limestone,  but  it  has  been  found  in  wells  farther  south  and  west. 
Mr.  Simpson,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  16,  township  16, 
range  7,  struck  a  thin,  shelly  sandstone  at  the  edge  of  the  bottom 
land,  at  a  depth  of  about  40  feet.  It  was  4  feet  thick,  and  followed 
by  the  limestone,  which  he  penetrated  some  10  feet,  when  he  obtained 
water.  In  a  well  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  8,  also  on  low 
ground,  the  same  sandstone  and  limestone  are  struck. 

The  Chester  Formation. — The  development  of  this  formation  in  the 
district  under  discussion  appears  to  be  the  same  as  in  the  adjoining 
county  of  Johnson,  which  has  been  discussed  at  length.  The  whole 
of  the  Chester  formation  seems  to  be  represented  here,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  uppermost  limestone  division,  which  has  probably  been 
carried  away  by  denuding  agencies.  The  facilities  for  observation 
are,  however,  not  so  good,  because  the  strata  are  generally  overlaid 
unconformably  and  covered  with  much  more  recent  deposits. 

In  speaking  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  I  have  already  described 
the  outcrops  of  the  sandstone  No.  10,  and  of  the  limestones  and 
shales  No.  9  of  the  Chester  series,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Mas- 
sac  county,  along  the  bluffs  on  the  north  side  of  the  swamps,  extend- 
ing from  Cache  river  to  the  southernmost  extremity  of  these  bluffs, 
and  perhaps  even  into  section  16,  township  14,  range  4. 

The  main  portion  of  the  upland  of  Massac  county,  north  of  the 
swamps,  is  underlaid  with  the  sandstone  No.  8  of  the  Chester  series. 
It  caps  the  bluffs  near  Cache  river,  at  Indian  Point;  also,  in  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  3,  township  14,  range  3,  the  section  of 
which  has  already  been  given.  In  that  section  it  constitutes  only 
the  25  upper  feet,  but  close  by  it  is  much  thicker,  and  forms  numer- 
ous prominent  cliffs  round  the  top  of  the  hills. 

The  upper  course  of  Sandy  creek,  from  Columbia  to  the  southwest 
quarter  of  .section  17,  township  14,  range  4,  lies  exclusively  through 
this  sandstone,  while  farther  down  the  sandstone  caps  the  hills. 
Near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  bluffs,  in  section  20,  it  finally 
dips  down  to  the  level  of  the  ponds,  and  forms  a  continuous  cliff  round 
their  margin,  for  several  miles,  about  60  feet  high,  and  increasing 
in  altitude.  In  section  16,  southeast  of  Columbia,  the  bluffs  are 
about  120  feet  high,  the  upper  60  feet  forming  turreted  vertical  cliffs. 
The  lower  portion  of  these  rocks' is  exposed  in  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  15,  on  the  road  from  Columbia  to  the  ponds.  These  lower 
strata  are  mostly  soft,  shaly  sandstones  and  highly  arenaceous  shales, 


392  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

with  intercalations  of  hard,  smooth  layers  of  variable  thickness, 
while  the  higher  cliff  rocks  are  partly  so  firmly  cemented  sandstones 
that  their  appearance  approaches  that  of  quartz  rock,  and  their 
fracture  is  irregular  and  splintery.  They  are  not  good  building 
material ;  while  farther  west  and  northwest,  strata  of  this  formation 
contain  superior  building  stones.  On  the  ridge  at  Columbia  we  find 
a  heavy  bed  of  nearly  pure  quartz  sand,  and  of  rather  fine  grain, 
which  is  evidently  derived  from  the  disintegration  of  rocks  of  this 
formation,  and  furnishes  a  superior  material  for  plastering. 

These  rocks  continue  farther  north,  along  the  edge  of  the  swamps, 
and  then  up  George's  creek,  through  section  10,  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  3,  and  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  4,  township  14, 
range  4,  to  the  county  line.  Their  dip,  over  all  this  distance,  appears 
to  be  decidedly  to  the  northward,  and  new  strata  succeed  above  those 
mentioned  before,  so  that  I  cannot  estimate  the  aggregate  thickness 
of  the  sandstone  No.  8,  in  this  vicinity,  at  much  less  than  250  feet. 

At  the  county  line  it  dips  underground,  and  is  overlaid  with  the 
Chester  limestone  No.  7,  which,  together  with  the  higher  sandstone 
No.  6,  form  a  high  hill  just  north  of  the  line,  which  I  have  described 
in  the  report  on  Johnson  county.  All  the  upland  north  of  the  swamps 
and  west  of  George's  creek,  in  Massac  county,  is  underlaid  with  this 
sandstone.  East  of  George's  creek  it  still  forms  the  swamp  bluffs, 
which  are  there  about  60  feet  high,  until  it  suddenly  dips  under- 
ground in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  2,  and  is  succeeded  by 
the  formation  No.  7,  which  forms  the  bluffs  from  this  point  to  the 
county  line,  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section  2,  generally  with  a 
capping  of  the  sandstone  No.  6.  These  two  formations  thus  occupy 
only  a  small  area,  parts  of  sections  2  and  8,  township  14,  range  4. 
The  limestone  formation  No.  7  was  not  sufficiently  exposed  in  the 
bluffs  to  obtain  a  good  section,  but  I  only  noticed,  on  top  of  the 
sandstone  No.  8,  some  heavy  beds  of  shales  with  thin  intercalations 
of  sandstone,  forming  beds  of  transition,  and  then  heavy  masses  of 
Chester  limestone  strewn  over  the  slopes.  I  obtained  from  the  latter 
some  fine  specimens  of  Crinoidea,  besides  the  ordinary  Chester 
fossils. 

South  of  the  swamps  we  find  an  isolated  outcrop  of  sandstone, 
probably  sandstone  No.  8,  on  a  branch  not  far  from  the  edge  of  the 
low  lands,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  35,  township  14,  range 
4.  Two  and  a-half  miles  farther  north,  at  the  edge  of  the  swamps 
opposite  to  the  cliffs  near  Columbia,  and  about  one  and  a-half 
miles  distant  from  them,  begins  another  series  of  rocky  bluffs.  In  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  23,  they  are  mainly,  if  not  altogether, 


MA8SAC   AND   POPE    COUNTIES.  393 

composed  of  'this  sandstone,  which  is  there  exposed  to  a  thickness 
of  ICO  feet.  I  am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  there  is  some  lime- 
stone at  their  base,  from  the  nature  of  some  springs  issuing  at  their 
foot  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  23.  These  sandstones  con- 
tinue in  the  bluffs  through  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  23,  and 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  14,  but  in  the  south  part  of  section 
IB,  the  hills  grow  lower,  and  the  sandstones  seem  to  dip  gradually 
under  ground,  and  to  be  succeeded  by  the  limestone  formation  No.  7. 
In  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  13,  shales  are  exposed  on  a 
ravine,  and  near  the  middle  of  the  east  line  of  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  13  this  limestone  itself  is  exposed  in  the  hillside,  reaching 
from  its  base  to  a  considerable  altitude.  It  is  mostly  gray,  with 
bluish  and  brownish  spots,  highly  siliceous,  and  contains  intercala- 
tions of  shales.  The  hill  is  from  160  to  200  feet  high  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  section  18,  township  14,  range  5,  and  is  entirely 
formed  of  this  limestone  formation,  with  the  exception  of  the  high- 
est summit,  which  consists  of  the  sandstone  No.  6.  No  exposures 
of  the  limestone  were  observed  south  of  the  bluffs  on  the  ridge,  but 
at  the  foot  of  the  bluffs  it  appears  to  extend  northeastward  through 
section  18.  It  does  not  crop  out  much,  and  I  could  trace  it  only 
by  occasional  masses  of  tumbling  rock.  Near  tlje  southwest  corner 
of  section  8  sandstone  is  quite  low  down,  and  on  Bear  creek,  north 
of  the  centre  of  section  8,  we  find  it  at  the  water's  edge,  soon  to  be 
succeeded  by  a  limestone  formation,  which  may  be  No.  5,  or  more 
probably  No.  7,  of  the  Chester  series.  The  formations  appear  to  be 
much  disturbed  along  the  lower  valley  of  Bay  river,  and  the  sub- 
divisions could  not  be  traced  throughout.  On  the  ridge  south  of  the 
bluffs  I  found  outcrops  of  the  sandstone  at  various  points  on  the 
ravines  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  19;  also,  on  the  head 
branches  of  Bear  creek,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  19,  south- 
east of  section  1'J,  and  farther  east  in  the  west  part  of  section  20. 

From  Bear  creek  eastward,  through  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 8,  the  bluffs  exhibit  no  rocks ;  but  in  the  north  part  of  section 
9,  we  find  them  composed  of  a  limestone  formation  of  great  thick- 
ness, measuring  considerably  over  a  hundred  feet,  and  consisting 
of  mostly  grayish,  sub-crystalline  and  siliceous  limestones  intercalated 
with  shales,  with  Archimedes,  Pentremites  and  other  Chester  fossils. 
An  outcrop  of  part  of  this  formation  is  illustrated  by  the  following 
section,  obtained  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  9,  township  14, 
range  5 : 


394  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

r 

1.  Ledges  of  limestone,  of  impure  gray  color,  siliceous,  forming  the  summit  of  the 

bluff 15  feet 

2.  Steep  slope,  heavily  strewn  with  tumbling  masses  of  limestone,  probably  un- 

derlaid mainly  with  shales,  perhaps  intercalated  with  some  limestone 30    " 

3.  Limestone  in  heavy  layers 26   " 

4.  Slope,  apparently  underlaid  with  shales 21    " 

5.  A  ledge  of  limestone,  and  slope  to  the  level  of  the  bottom  lands 10   " 

These  rocks  dip  to  the  eastward,  and  their  last  exposure  was  ob- 
served in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  10,  at  a  spring  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills;  but  they  probably  continue  in  the  foot  of  the 
hills  all  through  section  10.  Back  of  the  bluffs,  on  the  low  slopes, 
near  a  branch  of  Bear  creek,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  9, 
these  limestones  were  also  struck  in  a  well,  at  a  depth  of  only  12 
feet,  and  they  undoubtedly  underlie  a  large  portion  of  the  low  up- 
land near  Bear  creek.  The  ridge  east  of  Bear  creek  is,  however, 
capped  by  a  sandstone  formation,  which  overlies  these  limestones. 
If  these  limestones  overlie  the  sandstones  in  section  8,  they  would 
appear  to  be  No.  5  of  the  Chester  series,  and  the  sandstones  cap- 
ping them  No.  4 ;  but  if  it  was  thus,  I  failed  to  find  limestones  cor- 
responding to  No.  7  farther  eastward.  I  therefore  suspect  that  these 
limestones  are  really  No.  7,  and  do  not  overlie  the  sandstone  on 
Bear  creek,  in  the  north  part  of  section  8,  but  that  this  rock  rises 
with  a  local  dip  above  them,  so  that  the  sandstone  east  and  west 
of  the  limestones  is  No.  6. 

This  limestone,  whatever  its  position  in  the  Chester  series,  is  over- 
laid with  a  heavy  sandstone  formation,  which  forms  numerous  out- 
crops around  the  upper  edge  of  the  ridge  east  of  Bear  creek,  near 
the  southeast  corner  of  section  9,  thence  extends  through  section  10, 
and  appears  to  entirely  compose  the  bluffs  in  section  11,  and  in  sec- 
tion 12,  at  Kobinet  creek,  where  it  forms  cliffs  80  feet  high.  It 
extends  also  southward  over  the  ridge  near  Bear  creek,  through 
section  15,  and  the  west  part  of  section  22,  and  thence  to  Bobinet 
creek,  and  occupies  the  whole  valley  of  the  latter  creek,  from  the 
Bay  river  bluffs  to  the  head  of  its  branches,  forming  numerous  and 
nearly  continuous  outcrops,  and  many  precipitous  cliffs,  in  sections 
12,  13,  14,  23.  24,  25,  and  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  26,  town- 
ship 14,  range  5,  and  on  more  eastern  branches  in  sections  30,  18 
and  7,  township  14,  range  6,  to  the  exclusion,  as  far  as  I  know,  of 
any  other  Chester  rock,  with  the  only  exception  of  one  point  at  the 
head  of  an  eastern  branch  in  the  east  part  of  section  18.  Some  of 
the  highest  portions  of  the  ridge  are  covered  with  Tertiary  or  post- 
Tertiary  deposits. 


MASSAC   AND   POPE    CQUNTIES.  395 

East  of  Kobinet  creek  these  sandstones  continue  to  form  the 
bluffs  along  the  Bay  river  bottom,  through  section  7,  township  14, 
range  6,  but  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  8,  near  Mr.  Bazor's, 
limestone  crops  out  below  the  sandstone.  This  limestone  contains 
Archimedes,  is  mostly  gray,  siliceous,  partly  crystalline,  partly  close 
textured.  It  is  not  much  exposed,  but  would  seem  to  dip  to  the 
northwest,  so  that  it  overlies  the  sandstones  which  compose  the 
bluffs  further  east.  It  then  would  probably  correspond  to  No.  7  of 
the  Chester  series.  The  sandstone  farther  east  is  No.  8.  The  only 
other  point  in  this  vicinity  where  any  traces  of  limestone  were  ob- 
served, is  a  mile  farther  southwest,  on  the  ridge  on  the  east  side  of 
section  18.  At  the  so-called  Barnum's  diggings,  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  section  18,  where,  some  years  ago,  a  man  prospected  for  lead 
ore,  the  limestone  crops  out  on  the  slope,  of  bluish  and  grayish 
color,  capped  with  some  sandstone.  It  can  only  be  traced  into  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  18,  but  is  mostly  hidden  by  tumbling 
sand-rock  and  by  soil. 

Below  Mr.  Bazor's,  sandstones  were  observed  in  the  bluffs,  high 
up  and  low  down,  forming  a  series  of  bold  and  picturesque  cliffs. 
It  is  the  sandstone  No.  8  of  the  Chester  series,  which  can  here  not 
be  less  than  200  feet  thick.  It  continues  in  the  bluffs  to  near  the 
mouth  of  Bay  river,  but  on  section  22  and  26  it  only  caps  those 
bluffs,  while  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  or  No.  9,  forms  their  base. 

On  the  branch  which  empties  into  Bay  river  from  the  southwest, 
in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  16,  township  14,  range  6,  we 
find  nearly  continuous  outcrops  of  this  sandstone,  from  its  head  to 
its  mouth,  in  the  south  part  of  section  16,  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  21,  and  the  south  part  of  section  20,  and  it  is  exposed 
also  at  numerous  points  in  the  breaks  through  the  southwest  part 
of  this  township. 

I  have  stated,  in  discussing  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  that  this 
formation  was  cut  short  by  a  fault  near  the  mouth  of  Bay  river. 
"While  north  of  the  fault  we  find  this  limestone  and  the  overlying 
sandstone,  we  observe  south  of  it  strata  higher  in  the  Chester 
series  than  anywhere  else  in  this  district,  the  sandstone  No.  2, 
and  limestone  No.  3.  The  fault  itself  is  not  exposed,  so  that  these 
formations  could  be  seen  in  contact,  but  is  hidden  by  the  surface 
deposits.  South  of  it,  the  strata  dip  again  to  the  northward,  as 
they  did  north  of  it,  only  locally  stronger. 

On  the  bend  of  Barren,  creek,  only  a  short  distance  from  the  mouth 
of  Bay  river,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  35,  township  16, 
range  6,  and  also  higher  up  the  creek,  on  a  dry  branch  in  the 


396  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

southeast  quarter  of  section  35,  some  ledges  of  the  Chester  lime- 
stone No.  3  run  across  the  bed  of  the  creek,  capped,  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  only  a  few  feet,  by  the  sandstone  No.  2.  This  latter  crops 
out  also  in  the  bank  of  Barren  creek,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  35,  and  on  the  branch  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
35,  and  extends  some  distance  southward  in  the  hills  towards  Bay 
City,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  36,  and  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  1,  the  north  part  of  section  2,  and  at  other  points. 
The  limestone  No.  3  continues  at  the  base  of  the  hills  towards  the 
mouth  of  Barren  creek,  gradually  rising.  Bay  City,  on  the  Ohio, 
in  the  centre  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  36,  township  14, 
range  6,  is  built  on  it.  It  is  there  of  grayish  and  bluish-gray  colors, 
partly  craystalline,  partly  semi-crystalline  or  close  textured,  a  rather 
impure  limestone,  alternating  with  beds  of  shales,  and  contains  numer- 
ous Archimedes,  Pentremites,  Productus,  and  other  Chester  fossils, 
and  is  exposed  to  a  thickness  of  50  feet,  while  its  actual  thickness  is 
probably  greater.  The  bank  of  the  Ohio  river,  below  the  limestone, 
consists  of  sandstones  intercalated  with  shaly  slates  which  dip 
strongly  to  the  northward.  They  contain  a  seam  of  carbonaceous 
shales,  with  particles  of  coal,  varying  between  ode  and  three 
inches  in  thickness,  only  a  few  feet  below  the  lowest  limestone- 
A  short  distance  farther  down  the  river,  near  the  township  line, 
the  lowest  ledges  of  this  sandstone  No.  4  rise  above  the  water  level, 
dipping  45  degrees  to  the  northeast,  and  a  few  yards  farther  on, 
the  next  lower  Chester  limestone,  No.  5,  rises  to  the  surface  at 
the  same  dip.  It  resembles  No.  3,  contains  much  spar  in  conse- 
quence of  the  fissures,  which  is  received  by  being  tilted,  and  has  a 
considerable  thickness ;  still,  in  consequence  of  the  strong  dip,  it 
occupies  only  a  small  space  in  the  bluff  before  the  lower  sandstone, 
No.  6,  rises  from  underneath  it,  and  forms  the  point  of  the  bluff 
near  the  northeast  corner  of  section  1,  township  15,  range  6. 
There  the  dip  is  all  at  once  changed,  and  thence  down  the  Ohio 
to  Dog  creek  and  beyond,  the  sandstone  No.  6  forms  the  bluffs  in 
nearly  horizontal  position,  rising  very  gradually. 

Up  Barren  creek  the  formations  are  also  various,  but  they  all 
belong  to  the  Chester  series.  The  limestone  No.  3,  although  little 
exposed,  can  be  traced  up  the  creek  through  most  of  section  2, 
township  15,  range  6,  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  2.  In  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  2  (?)  the  lower  sandstone  No.  4  rises  from 
underneath  the  limestone  and  soon  occupies  the  whole  bluffs.  At 
the  forks  of  the  creek,  near  the  middle  of  the  south  line  of  section 
3,  sandstone  forms  the  bank  of  the  creek,  and  extends  on  the  main 


MASSAC   AND    POPE    COUNTIES.  897 

branch  to  near  the  east  line  of  section  9,  and  on  Pistol's  branch  to 
near  the  middle  of  the  south  line  of  section  4 ;  but  I  am  not  satis- 
tied  whether  this  is  all  No.  4  or  whether  there  is  an  intermediate 
limestone  formation  No.  5,  and  the  easternmost  of  the  above  named 
outcrops  are  then  No.  6.  In  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  3, 
where  the  sandstone  is  exposed  on  the  creek,  I  noticed  a  large  mass 
of  tumbling  limestone,  and  the  hills,  from  their  shape,  would  seem 
to  be  formed  of  limestone.  If  this  is  so,  then  we  have  the  lime- 
stone No.  5  and  sandstone  No.  6.  Continuing  up  Pistol's  branch 
we  find  limestones,  probably  No.  7,  extending  through  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  4  and  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  c,  while 
the  hills  are  capped  with  the  above  mentioned  sandstones.  On  the 
main  branch  of  Barren  Creek  the  same  limestone  extends  through 
the  south  part  of  section  9,  and  into  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion llj ;  also  capped  by  sandstones.  The  limestones  attain  a  con- 
siderable thickness  and  are  of  the  common  Chester  type.  Some  of 
them  would  make  a  good  building  rock.  On  the  main  branch  they 
exhibit  numerous  sink-holes.  The  overlying  sandstones  are  also  in 
part  a  good  building  rock.  Near  their  junction  with  the  limestones 
they  are,  in  places,  highly  ferruginous — sufficiently  so  to  form 
impure  siliceous  iron  ores ;  and  some  of  this  limonite  ore  seems, 
also,  to  have  been  formed  in  the  limestone  formation,  evidently  by 
chemical  precipitation  from  the  Chalybeate  waters  by  the  lime. 
These  latter  ores  are  by  far  the  purest  of  the  two,  but  their  aggre- 
gate quantity  seems  not  to  be  large.  The  dip  of  the  strata  in  this 
vicinity  is  towards  the  east.  Just  at  the  county  line,  at  Mr.  Shands 
Golithly's  mill,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  16,  sandstones 
form  a  low  outcrop  in  Barren  creek.  If  we  judge  from  the  prevailing 
dip,  this  would  seem  to  be  the  sandstone  No.  8,  as  it  would  be 
overlaid  by  the  above  mentioned  limestone ;  but  in  digging  a  well 
at  the  mill  heavy  masses  of  limestone  are  said  to  have  been  struck 
only  a  few  feet  below  the  surface,  and  apparently  in  place.  Per- 
haps, then,  the  sandstone  is  only  an  outlier  of  No.  6  deposited  in  a 
denudation  of  No.  7. 

Over  the  ridge,  between  Barren  creek  and  Dog  creek,  sandstones 
are  exposed  at  numerous  points  in  the  breaks,  but  no  outcrops  of 
limestone  were  observed.  Where  these  pass  through  they  must  be 
covered  with  ditritus  and  soil. 

We  have  seen  that  sandstones,  apparently  No.  6  of  the  Chester 
series,  form  the  bluffs  of  the  Ohio  north  of  Dog  creek,  in  sections 
6,  7  and  18,  township  15,  range  7.  Near  the  centre  of  the  east  half 
of  section  7  I  found  the  top  of  the  ridge  all  underlaid  with  this 


398  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

sandstone,  and  in  the  upper  part  of  the  bluff  it  formed  prominent 
cliffs.  The  rock  is  mostly  firm,  strongly  cemented,  fine  grained,  and 
contained  locally  particles  of  calcareous  spar.  About  the  middle  of 
the  bluff  I  noticed  these  shaly  intercalations,  and  with  them  a  mixed 
areno-calcareous  rock,  with  Archimedes  and  stems  of  Encrinites ; 
and  lower  down  the  shale  seemed  to  continue  to  the  base  of  the 
bluff.  The  height  of  the  cliff  above  the  bottom  is  generally  between 
70  and  80  feet,  while  the  ridge  rises  higher.  Towards  Dog  creek 
the  bluff  is  lower  and  less  abrupt.  In  this  district  the  succession 
of  the  strata  cannot  be  as  plainly  traced  as  some  distance  farther 
north,  for  causes  stated  above ;  besides,  there  are  more  local  irreg- 
ularities, strong  variations  of  dip,  such  as  we  have  found  below  Bay 
City,  and  I  believe  more  faults,  which  can  probably  be  demonstrated 
by  comparing  the  strata  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio. 

I  observed,  on  the  south  side  of  Dog  creek,  the  following  section 
in  the"  northeast  quarter  of  section  19  (?): 

1.  Slope,  strewn  with  sandstones,  which  are  in  place  near  by.    Its  lower  end  may 

be  underlaid  with  shales 50  feet 

2.  Cliff  of  Chester  limestone;  full  of  fossils,  gray  crystalline,  hard  siliceous 23    " 

3.  Slope,  with  outcropping  ledges  of  limestone 11    " 

4.  Slope,  apparently  underlaid  with  shales 16    " 

5.  Slope,  with  a  ledge  of  rock  at  its  upper  end,  which  is,  however,  not  exposed, 

probably  limestone 18    " 

6.  Slaty,  finely-grained  sandstone,  and  arenaceous  slate,  to  the  bed  of  t)og  creek...  8    " 

The  whole  section  measures  126  feet,  of  which  between  50  and  100 
are  limestones  and  shales.  Sandstones  form  the  entire  bluffs  of  Dog 
creek  farther  up  in  the  northwest  part  of  section  19  and  in  the 
adjoining  section  24,  and  the  east  part  of  section  23,  township  lo, 
range  6,  as  far  as  any  rocks  are  exposed  along  the  creek.  I  noticed 
sandstones,  also,  on  the  flat,  rather  low  upland,  near  the  centre  of 
section  19,  and  they  capped  the  ridge  west  from  there  near  the  east 
line  of  section  19,  south  of  the  above  section.  The  limestones  form 
few  outcrops,  but  can  be  traced  southward  along  the  bluffs,  which 
are  consequently  more  sloping.  They  apparently  rise  in  that  direc- 
tion. On  the  upland,  but  considerably  below  the  highest  ridge,  at 
Widow  Neely's,  near  the  southwest  corner  of  section  20,  two  wells 
were  dug  in  1853.  One  passed  through  blue  shales  and  a  thin  streak 
of  black  carbonaceous  slate  down  to  limestone ;  the  other,  at  a  some- 
what higher  level,  close  by  the  first,  passed  through  limestone  to  the 
shales,  and  did  not  penetrate  to  the  coal.  On  the  east  side  of  the 
higher  hills,  in  the  west  part  of  section  29,  I  observed  at  various 
points  these  limestones,  and  sandstones  above  them;  and  it  is  so, 
also,  on  the  ravines  of  Elkhorn  creek,  in  the  southeast  and  south- 
west quarters  of  section  30.  The  Black  Slate  (some  say  it  was  coal) 


MASSAC   AND    POPE    COUNTIES.  399 

was  also  found  in  a  well  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  30. 
Lower  down  that  same  branch,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
29,  heavy  outcrops  of  a  sandstone  were  noticed,  which  seem  to 
underlie  the  limestone  and  to  dip  to  the  northward.  Farther  south- 
east, on  the  south  side  of  the  wide  valley  of  Elkhorn  creek,  east  and 
south  of  the  centre  of  section  32,  township  15,  range  2,  we  find 
again  heavy  outcrops  of  limestone,  which  reach  from  the  bed  of  the 
creek  to  a  considerable  altitude,  interstratified  with  shales.  The 
rock  here  is  mostly  siliceous,  sub- crystalline  and  splintery  in  fracture 
— an  unmistakable  Chester  limestone.  Sandstone  forms  the  top  of 
the  higher  hills ;  and  a  short  distance  farther  down  the  creek,  in 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  32,  much  tumbling  sandstone  was 
observed  on  the  bank  of  the  creek,  probably  from  the  same  ledges 
which  we  have  found  north  of  the  creek,  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  29,  which  seem  to  rise  above  the  last  named  limestone. 
On  the  lower  course  of  the  creek,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 28,  its  channel  is  worn  20  deep  into  sandstones,  which-  exhibit 
a  strong  dip  to  the  northward.  A  short  distance  southeast  from 
there,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
33,  at  the  edge  of  a  low  ridge,  this  sandstone  occupies  the  few  upper- 
most feet,  and  is  partly  so  strongly  cemented  that  it  is  flinty.  It  is 
underlaid  with  limestones.  Another  outcrop  of  the  sandstone  is  in 
the  bed  of  the  Ohio,  in  the  southeast  corner  of  section  28.  There, 
it  dips  several  degrees  to  the  west  of  northwest,  and  is  partly  highly 
cemented.  Up  Elkhorn  creek  the  above  mentioned  Chester  lime- 
stones continue  from  the  centre  of  section  32,  through  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  32  and  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  31,  capped 
by  sandstones ;  but  both  are  exposed  at  a  few  points  only.  Then 
sandstones  crop  out  near  the  creek,  in  the  extreme  southwest  part 
of  section  31,  where  they  have  been  quarried  to  some  extent.  They 
continue  some  distance  westward,  apparently  rising  from  underneath 
the  limestone.  Also,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  adjoining  sec- 
tion 1,  township  16,  range  6,  some  hard  sand-rock  crops  out  in  the 
bank  of  the  creek.  Close  by,  higher  up  on  the  hills,  limestone  is 
said  to  have  been  struck  in  a  well,  and  some  tumbling  slabs  of  a 
highly  fossilii'erous  Chester  limestone  were  observed  on  the  creek. 
Only  the  more  recent  deposits  were  noticed  for  some  distance  up 
Elkhorn  creek,  but  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  35,  township 
15,  range  6,  sandstones  were  observed  on  the  creek  and  tumbling  on 
the  slopes.  South  of  this  creek  only  the  lowest  Chester  sandstone 
was  noticed  above  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  tumbling  near  Ham- 


400  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

melsburg,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  10,  and  in  situ  in  wells 
in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  16,  and  in  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  8,  township  1C,  range  7. 

Farther  northwest,  mostly  in  the  brakes  of  the  dividing  ridge,  we 
find  a  number  of  scattering  outcrops  of  the  Chester  strata,  and  at 
other  points  they  have  been  discovered  in  digging  wells.  Thus,  in 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  7,  township  16,  range  7,  near  the 
Pope  county  line,  on  the  road  leading  west  from  Liberty,  sandstones 
crop  out,  and  have  been  quarried  on  the  hillside.  West  and  south- 
west of  the  head  of  Dog  creek,  in  the  southwest  part  of  township  15, 
range  6,  there  are  also  numerous  small  outcrops  of  this  kind.  The 
sandstone  forms,  usually,  uneven,  hard  and  thin  ledges.  Thus  we  find 
it  in  the  south  part  of  section  21,  in  the  middle  and  southwest  parts 
of  section  28,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  27,  in  the  north- 
east and  west  part  of  section  33,  and  at  a  considerably  lower  level 
on  a  branch  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  32.  Near  the  centre 
of  section  28  slaty  shales  were  penetrated  to  a  depth  of  28  feet  under 
a  few  feet  of  the  sandstone.  In  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  27, 
on  the  upper  course  of  a  branch,  some  thin  layers  of  limestone  and 
shales  are  said  to  have  been  struck  in  a  well,  at  a  depth  of  40  feet ; 
and  limestone  has  also  been  found  in  a*  well  on  the  undulating  flats 
near  the  centre  of  section  4,  township  16,  range  6,  at  a  depth  of  50 
feet,  but  generally,  even  in  deep  wells,  only  Tertiary  deposits  are 
found.  Near  the.  head  of  Massac  creek  the  Chester  sandstone  is 
also  said  to  crop  out,  probably  in  section  35,  township  14,  range  5, 
and  it  is  also  exposed  at  a  single  other  point  on  Massac  creek,  near 
its  bend  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  7,  township  15,  range  5, 
some  distance  below  the  forks,  extending  a  short  distance  along  the 
creek.  Its  whole  exposed  thickness  seems  to  be  hardly  more  than 
25  feet,  and  much  less  in  each  single  outcrop.  The  ledges  are  usually 
hard,  uneven,  partly  thin,  partly  heavy.  Some  of  it  has  a  porous 
texture,  and  can  be  wrought  tolerably  well  for  building  purposes. 

No  other  outcrops  or  traces  of  the  Carboniferous  formation  have 
been  discovered  south  and  west  of  those  last  enumerated. 

Tertiary  and  Post-Tertiary  Formations. — These  formations  occupy 
by  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  upland  between  the  Ohio  and  the 
swamps.  Most  prominent  we  find  in  this  district  the  conglomerate 
of  siliceous  pebbles,  with  ferruginous  cement,  commonly  called  cement 
rock,  which  seems  to  cap  the  dividing  ridges,  and  thence  to  dip 
southwestward  to  the  Ohio.  Besides,  we  find  immense  quantities 
of  the  same  pebbles  uncemented,  in  many  instances  apparently 

moved  from  their  original  position,  and  re-deposited  in  the  waters 


MASSAC   AND   POPE   COUNTIES.  401 

at  a  later  period.  The  shales  and  other  lower  Tertiary  strata,  which 
we  found  exposed  in  Pulaski  county,  are  seldom  found  in  this  dis- 
trict; except  in  deep  wells. 

In  the  hills  on  the  Ohio,  in  Pulaski  county,  just  west  of  the  Mas- 
sac  county  line,  I  observed  gray  potter's  clay,  white  micaceous  and 
arenaceous  shales,  or  rather  fine  micaceous  shaly  sand,  coarser  sand 
and  siliceous  pebbles,  and  fragments  of  the  Conglomerate.  Continu- 
ing eastward  into  Massac  county,  we  find,  on  the  most  sharply 
broken  points  of  the  ridge,  flint  gravel  and  pieces  of  the  Conglom- 
erate, and  on  the  river  bank  escarpments  of  gravel,  frequently  mixed 
with  more  earthy  material,  evidently  in  its  present  form  a  Quaternary 
deposit,  but  then  through  sections  8,  16  and  15,  township  15,  range 
3,  as  far  as  Fletcher's  Landing,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section 
14,  whenever  the  banks  rise  vertically,  they  consist  of  an  arenaceous 
silt  or  sandy  loam,  of  yellowish  buff  or  whitish  colors.  The  low 
water  beach  is  in  many  places  strewn  with  pebbles  and  Conglom- 
erate. 

At  Fletcher's  I  observed  a  small  outcrop  of  the  Conglomerate  in 
the  river  bank.  The  Little  Chain,  a  rocky  shoal,  which  extends 
across  the  Ohio,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  19,  and  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  30,  township  15,  range  4,  is  formed  by 
the  Conglomerate,  which  also  covers  the  bank  there  in  large,  tumbling 
masses.  At  this  point,  and  farther  east,  I  noticed,  along  the  pebble- 
covered  beach,  a  continuous  succession  of  springs  of  copperas  water, 
which  certainly  indicates  the  presence,  at  that  level,  of  the  Tertiary 
argillaceous  shales  and  clays,  which  contain  considerable  sulphuret 
of  iron,  as  we  have  stated  in  the  report  on  Pulaski  county.  The 
higher  bank  shows,  in  many  places,  traces  of  white,  shaly  sand, 
mentioned  above.  Thus  it  continues  across  Five  Mile  creek;  and 
farther  on,  towards  Metropolis,  we  still  find  several  such  springs. 

Metropolis  is  situated  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  2,  town- 
ship 16,  range  4,  extending  into  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  2, 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  1,  and  southward  to  the  Ohio,  into 
sections  11  and  12.  The  low  hills  rise  gently  from  the  river,  and 
have  a  flat  top.  In  places  they  are  strewn  with  gravel,  and  fine 
yellowish  sand  is  exposed  at  several  points  near  the  town.  It  is 
probably  Quaternary  here,  although  similar  sand  has  been  found 
inter-stratified  with  the  Tertiary  shales. 

On  the  Ohio,  just  above  Metropolis,  in  section  12,  is  the  site  of 
old  Fort  Massac.  Nearly  all  through  that  section,  and  extending  a 
short  distance  across  the  range  line,  we  find  the  Ohio  low  bluffs 
—26 


402  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

mainly  consisting  of  the  ferruginous  conglomerate  of  siliceous  rounded 
pebbles.  It  reaches  a  thickness  of  about  30  feet,  and  begins  some 
distance  above  the  low-water  level.  The  siliceous  material  is  of  all 
sizes,  but  most  of  it  is  below  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg.  The  proportion 
of  iron,  although  the  rock  derives  its  brown  color  and  firmness  from 
it,  is  generally  quite  small.  The  Conglomerate  varies  in  hardness, 
and  is  intercalated  with  narrow  seams  of  a  much  finer-grained  material, 
a  ferruginous  sandstone.  The  base  of  the  Conglomerate  is  nowhere 
exposed,  but  we  may  infer  the  presence  of  the  Tertiary  shales  from 
numerous  springs  of  chalybeate  (copperas)  water,  which  ooze  out  at 
the  same  level,  evidently  above  a  stratum  which  is  impermeable  to 
water,  and  forms  a  yellow  scum  on  the  low-water  beach.  Above  the 
Conglomerate  we  observe  a  slightly  indurated,  white,  yellowish  or 
brownish  quartz  sand,  which  is  rather  finely  grained,  sharp,  and  con- 
tains some  pebbles.  An  outcrop  near  the  east  line  of  section  12  has 
the  appearance  of  the  white,  micaceous,  shaly  sand  mentioned 
above. 

Above  the  mouth  of  Massac  creek,  in  the  east  part  of  section  7, 
and  in  section  8,  township  16,  range  5,  the  uplands  along  the  Ohio 
barely  reach  above  high-water  mark.  There  the  soil  and  sub-soil 
forms  a  vertical  escarpment  of  a  few  feet  in  altitude,  while  the  Con- 
glomerate crops  out  in  the  beach  at  seasons  of  low  water,  and  the 
copperas  springs  ooze' out  below  it.  I  also  observed  small  outcrops 
of  the  Conglomerate  east  of  the  mouth  of  Seven-mile  creek,  in  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  9,  and  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
16.  There  the  banks  are  so  low  as  to  be  overflowed,  and  grow  still 
lower  in  section  15,  where  they  are  more  sloping  arid  show  no  out- 
crops. In  section  14  the  banks  are  steeper,  but  not  higher,  and  we 
occasionally  find  a  piece  of  the  Conglomerate. 

Brooklyn,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  13,  township  16,  range 
5,  is  built  on  the  only  point,  within  a  distance  of  several  miles,  which 
reaches  a  few  feet  above  high-water  mark.  It  evidently  owes  this 
advantage  to  a  base  of  solid  Conglomerate.  Although  the  latter  does 
not  crop  out  in  situ,  it  is  found  in  large  tumbling  masses  on  the 
gravelly  beach,  which  is  surmounted  by  a  vertical  clay  bank.  Above 
Brooklyn,  the  wide  bottoms  begin,  and  the  formation  is  decidedly 
alluvial. 

Off  from  the  river,  in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  we  find  the 
siliceous  gravel,  the  same  of  which  the  Conglomerate  is  composed, 
over  most  of  the  uplands,  and  exposed  on  the  higher  ridges  and  on 
steep  points ;  but  of  the  Conglomerate,  I  only  noticed  fragments. 
Thus  we  find  it  at  numerous  places  in  range  3,  as  well  on  the 


MASSAC    AND    POPE    COUNTIES.  403 

sharp  ridge  in  township  15,  range  3,  as  farther  north  in  township  14T 
range  3.  Even  where  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestones  crop  out, 
the  higher  points  are  strewn  with  gravel.  In  digging  wells,  some- 
times the  Tertiary  shales  are  struck.  Thus  a  well  in  a  low  situation 
in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  34,  township  14,  range  3,  not  very 
far  from  a  point  thickly  strewn  with  the  gravel,  passed  through  15 
feet  of  soil  and  yellow  clay,  10  feet  of  hard  red  sand,  then  about  10 
feet  of  coarse  gravel  and  pebbles,  then  shales  and  clay  a  few  feet 
thick,  and  finally  into  what  appears  to  have  been  the  white  mica- 
ceous shaly  sand.  On  a  high  point  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  the 
same  section  (34),  I  noticed  numerous  pieces  of  the  Conglomerate, 
together  with  some  sandy  limonite  (brown  hydrous  oxide  of  iron), 
and  lower  down,  near  by,  much  of  the  gravel. 

Numerous  pieces  of  the  Conglomerate  were  also  observed  on  high 
steep  hills  south  of  the  swamps,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
1,  township  15,  range  3,  and  vicinity,  and  farther  east,  especially  in 
sections  4  and  9,  township  15,  range  4,  while  on  the  uplands  farther 
south  toward  Metropolis,  outcrops  are  scarce  on  account  of  the  undu- 
lating character  of  the  land,  and  only  banks  of  gravel  were  noticed 
now  and  then. 

In  section  2,  township  15,  range  4,  I  found  pieces  of  ferruginous 
sandstone,  which  evidently  originated  from  the  same  formations.  A 
well  dug  in  the  centre  of  that  section,  on  a  low  ridge,  passed  through 
about  12  feet  of  soil  and  yellow  clay,  12  feet  of  red  sand,  hard  to 
dig,  then  gravel  and  sand,  then  plastic  clay,  more  sand  and  gravel, 
and  was  finally  abandoned  in  sand.  It  must  have  reached  the  Ter- 
tiary strata. 

The  ridge  begins  to  form  a  marked  summit  in  this  vicinity,  begin- 
ning with  a  prominent  gravelly  knob  in  the  southeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion 11,  whence  it  extends  northeastward.  In  the  south  part  of  sec- 
tion 1,  it  shows  conspicuous  cliffs  of  the  Conglomerate,  and  the 
latter  caps  the  sharply  broken  dividing  ridge  north  of  Massac  creek, 
in  section  31,  south  part  of  section  30,  sections  29,  28,  27,  south 
part  of  section  22,  and  in  section  26,  township  14,  range  5.  It  ex- 
tends north  of  these  summits  over  the  ridge  close  to  the  swamps, 
where  I  found  it  in  large  masses,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
17  and  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  18 ;  but  perhaps  it  is  not  in 
place  there  now.  I  noticed  it,  also,  at  various  points  between  Bear 
creek  and  Robinet  creek,  although  the  main  body  of  that  ridge  is 
formed  by  the  Chester  formation.  South  of  the  main  dividing  ridge, 
towards  Massac  creek,  I  observed  only  tumbling  pieces  of  the  Con- 
glomerate. A  well  dug  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section  83,  on  the 


404  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

gentle  slopes  near  Massac  creek,  passed  60  feet  deep  into  various 
layers  of  sand,  gravel  and  clay;  and  a  cistern  on  the  main  ridge, 
close  to  the  Pope  county  line,  near  the  centre  of  section  26,  was 
excavated  in  the  white  micaceous  shaly  sand.  On  the  upper  course 
of  Massac  creek,  in  section  35,  I  found  the  bluffs  in  places  rather 
high  and  steep  and  strewn  with  Conglomerate,  with  which  I  noticed, 
also,  pieces  of  a  highly  ferruginous  sandstone,  apparently  correspond- 
ing to  similar  rocks  at  Fort  Massac. 

The  main  dividing  ridge  changes  its  course  at  the  head  of  Massac 
creek  to  the  southeast,  and  continues  quite  sharply  broken  and 
capped  with  the  Conglomerate  by  the  heads  of  the  Seven  Mile  creek, 
Barren  creek,  Dog  creek,  George's  bayou  and  Elkhorn  creek  to  near 
New  Liberty,  on  the  Ohio. 

We  find  it  thus  in  section  6,  township  15,  range  6,  but  more  char- 
acteristically farther  south  and  southeast  in  the  east  part  of  section 
7,  in  the  east  part  of  section  18,  in  sections  8,  17,  20,  21,  22,  part  of 
16  and  15,  through  sections  28,  27,  26,  25,  in  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  34,  part  of  sections  35  and  36,  all  of  township  15,  range 
6 ;  then  in  part  sections  2  and  1,  township  1(5,  range  6 ;  and  in  sec- 
tion 30,  township  15,  range  7 ;  and  in  section  6,  north  part  of 
section  5 ;  and  in  sections  4  and  9,  township  16,  range  7.  The 
main  body  of  this  ridge  is  formed  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  form- 
ation, which  crops  out  at  various  points  at  its  base  and  high  up 
towards  the  summit;  but  the  summit  itself  consists  invariably  of 
the  Conglomerate.  The  latter  extends  at  numerous  points  eastward 
from  the  main  ridge,  on  the  minor  ridges  between  the  smaller 
streams,  to  the  river  bluffs.  I  thus  noticed  it  much  over  the  older 
rocks,  in  the  southwest  part  of  section  14,  range  6,  between  Robinet 
creek,  Bay  river  and  Barren  creek,  then  between  Barren  creek,  the 
Ohio  and  Dog  creek,  and  between  Dog  and  Elkhorn  creeks.  On  the 
hills  west  of  Hammelsburg,  on  the  Ohio,  on  the  east  side  of  section 
9,  township  16,  range  7,  the  Conglomerate  has  been  struck,  in  solid 
strata,  in  wells,  while  flint  gravel  covers  the  slopes  near  the  river. 
No  signs  of  Tertiary  shales,  or  other  strata  than  the  Conglomerate 
and  gravel  beds,  have  been  discovered  on  these  ridges  south  of  the 
head  of  Massac  creek,  above  the  lower  Carboniferous  formation.  On 
Elkhorn  creek,  between  the  outcrops  of  the  latter,  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  36,  township  15,  range  6,  I  noticed,  however, 
heavy  deposits  of  sand,  apparently  of  Tertiary  age,  but  perhaps 
re-deposited  in  the  Quaternary  period,  from  which  issues  a  small 
spring  of  copperas  water,  which  may  be  derived  either  from  Tertiary 
or  Carboniferous  strata  in  the  hillside. 


MASSAC  AND  POPE  COUNTIES.  405 

The  district  between  Massac  creek,  the  dividing  ridge  and  the 
Ohio  bottoms,  is  undoubtedly  underlaid  with  Tertiary  strata ;  but 
the  surface  configuration  of  the  country,  which  gradually  slopes  from 
the  ridge"  towards  Massac  creek  and  the  Ohio,  together  with  the  facility 
with  which  these  strata  disintegrate,  prevent  their  forming  outcrops. 
The  only  information  of  the  composition  of  the  sub-strata  is  obtained 
in  digging  wells,  because  the  beds  of  gravel  which  we  notice  occa- 
sionally might  be  derived  from  the  Conglomerate  on  the  ridge,  and 
are  certainly  most,  if  not  all,  of  .Quaternary  origin.  Thus  we  find 
a  gravelly  beach  all  along  the  northern  edge  of  the  wide  bottom  of 
the  Black  Bend  of  the  Ohio,  where  there  is  an  ascent  of  a  few  feet 
to  the  upland. 

On  the  gently  rolling  land  east  of  Massac  creek,  in  the  southwest 
part  of  township  15,  range  5,  water  is  generally  struck  between  40 
and  80  feet  deep,  the  wells  passing  through  yellow  clay,  then  gravel 
and  sand,  and  finally  clay  and  sand. 

Near  the  upper  course  of  the  south  fork  of  Massac  creek,  on  the 
low  uplands  in  the  southwest  part  of  section  11,  township  15,  range 
5,  a  well  was  dug  to  the  depth  of  110  feet,  through  sand,  gravel, 
gray  micaceous  shale  and  other  Tertiary  strata,  and  no  water  was 
obtained. 

Some  miles  southeast  from  there  Mr.  Sidner  dug  a  well,  in  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  24,  township  15,  range  5,  on  the  west 
side  of  Seven-mile  creek  and  a  few  feet  above  its  bank.  He  passed 
successively  through  yellow  clay,  gravel,  then  the  white  shaly  sand, 
and  finally  dark  colored  shales  with  streaks  of  sand.  Through  these 
latter  he  passed  35  feet  deep,  and  then  abandoned  the  work  at  a 
depth  of  75  feet,  without  having  obtained  water.  The  lower  strata 
were  unquestionably  Tertiary. 

A  mile  and  a  half  farther  east,  on  much  higher  ground,  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  section  19,  township  15,  range  6,  a  gentleman 
dug  at  four  different  points,  from  60  to  90  feet  deep,  without  obtain- 
ing water.  It  appears  that  he  did  not  strike  the  dark  colored  shales 
at  that  depth.  Others,  who  obtained  water  in  such  deep  wells,  found 
it  frequently  much  impregnated  with  copperas  and  other  salts,  which 
make  it  unhealthy. 

Some  miles  farther  south,  probably  near  the  middle  of  the  east 
line  of  section  1,  township  16,  range  5,  Mr.  Willis  dug  104  feet 
deep,  and  found  nearly  the  same  strata  as  Mr.  Sidner. 

Still  farther  southeast,  Capt.  Wood  dug  a  well  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  9,  township  16,  range  6,  to  a  depth  of  62  feet. 
He  passed  through  14  feet  of  soil  and  yellow  clay,  3  feet  of  gravel, 


406  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

then  blue  clay,  slaty  clay  and  pipe  clay.  The  shaly  white  sand  he 
struck  at  44  feet,  and  found  it  8  feet  thick ;  then  followed  pipe  clay, 
and  finally  gravel.  In  other  wells  of  that  vicinity  dark  colored 
shales  were  also  found. 

I  might  add  more  data,  but  these  are  amply  sufficient  to  show 
that  this  whole  district  is  underlaid,  at  some  depth,  with  Tertiary 
strata. 

Economical  Geology. 

• 

Coal. — The  coal  bearing  portion  of  the  Carboniferous  formation 
does  not  extend  to  this  district,  and  there  is,  therefore,  no  prospect 
of  finding  stone  coal.  The  thin  streaks  of  carbonaceous  matter 
which  have  been  discovered  at  a  few  points  in  the  Chester  group, 
have  induced  many  to  think  that  paying  seams  of  coal  might  be 
discovered  by  digging  after  them ;  but  this  hope  is  entirely  futile. 
In  relation  to  the  prospects  of  finding  coal  in  such  formations,  I 
refer  to  what  has  already  been  said  in  the  report  on  Johnson  county. 

In  Pulaski  and  Alexander  counties  the  Tertiary  shales  contain 
traces  of  lignite,  which  are,  however,  likewise  unpromising.  In 
Massac  county  no  such  traces  have  been  discovered,  and  the  strata 
are  so  little  exposed,  that  searching  for  this  lignite  would  be  expen- 
sive, with  very  little  prospect  of  any  practical  results  whatever. 

Minerals.  f 

Lead  Ore. — There  has  been,  at  times,  a  good  deal  of  discussion 
amongst  the  inhabitants  in  relation  to  the  prospects  of  finding  lead 
ores.  Some  loose  fragments  of  galena  have  occasionally  been  picked 
up  on  fields  northwest  of  Liberty,  near  the  Ohio,  on  a  low  ridge  at 
the  edge  of  the  swamps  near  Sandy  creek,  and  at  a  few  other 
points ;  but  undoubtedly  these  pieces  were  dropped  there  by  the 
Indians  or  early  settlers  who  brought  them  from  distant  points  for 
making  bullets.  Nearly  all  over  the  State,  an  occasional  piece  is 
thus  found.  The  geological  formation  at  these  points  is  not  favor- 
able to  lead  bearing  veins,  and  if  the  ore  originated  from  the  dis- 
integration of  lead  bearing  rocks  in  the  vicinity,  such  pieces  would 
not  be  found  in  the  upper  stratum  of  the  soil,  but  deeper  down  on 
top  of  the  bed  rock. 

At  other  points  particles  of  calcareous  spar  in  the  Chester  lime- 
stone have  induced  persons  ignorant  of  practical  mineralogy  to 
suppose  that  they  saw  infallible  signs  of  lead  ore,  while  this  spar 


MASSAC   AND   POPE    COUNTIES.  407 

in  fact  formed  only  part  of  petrefactions,  or  in  some  cases  had  been 
formed  in  crevices  of  the  rocks  in  consequence  of  their  fracturing 
by  upheaving  forces.  The  latter  is  the  case  a  short  distance  below 
Bay  City,  on  the  Ohio.  Sometimes  swindlers,  in  a  small  way,  may 
have  worked  upon  the  imagination  of  the  owners  of  the  land,  in 
order  to  victimize  them.  Thus  lead  ore  has  been  supposed  to  exist 
in  the  bluffs  of  Bay  river,  near  the  middle  of  the  south  line  of  sec- 
tion 8,  township  14,  range  6,  and  on  a  branch  of  Barren  creek,  in 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  5,  township  15,  range  6.  At  the 
so-called  Barnum's  diggings,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  18, 
township  14,  range  6,  even  a  shallow  shaft  was  sunk  into  the 
Chester  limestone,  from  which  a  few  small  particles  of  iron  pyrites 
were  obtained.  A  similar  attempt  was  made  near  the  centre  of 
section  28,  township  15,  range  6,  where  they  penetrated  sandstones 
and  shales  of  the  Chester  formation  over  30  feet  deep,  with  a  simi- 
lar result.  On  Eobinet  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
13,  township  14,  range  5,  another  man  wasted  much  labor  in  sink- 
ing in  sandstones  of  the  Chester  series.  The  only  point  where  I 
have  seen  any  indications  which  may  lead  to  the  discovery  of  a  lead 
mine,  is  at  Mr.  Bird's,  near  Bay  river,  a  mile  above  its  mouth,  in 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  26,  township  14,  range  6.  There 
we  find  large  masses  of  the  Chester  sandstone  No.  8,  apparently 
tumbling,  which  must  have  been  in  place  formerly  at  a  higher  point 
of  the  bluff,  the  base  of  which  consists  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone. 
These  sandstones  are  highly  cemented  in  consequence  of  some  meta- 
morphic  action,  which  was  probably  contemporaneous  with  the  form- 
ation of  the  crystals  of  fluor  spar  which  are  here  disseminated 
through  them.  The  formation  is  similar  to  that  at  the  Eosiclare 
mines  on  the  Ohio,  in  Hardin  county.  The  fluor  spar  is  not  found 
anywhere  in  the  State,  except  in  connection  with  the  lead  ore  in 
Hardin  county,  and  at  a  few  points  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pope 
county,  where  there  are  also  traces  of  galena. 

The  existence  of  the  fluor  spar,  as  well  as  of  the  lead  ore,  depends, 
probably,  upon  extensive  fractures  of  the  entire  rock  formations,  and 
although  they  do  not  probably  fill  the  deep  veins  thus  created,  still 
I  consider  them  as  dependent  upon  these  fissures.  There  appears 
to  be  such  a  fault  near  the  Eosiclare  mines ;  and  we  have  seen  that 
there  is  one  at  the  mouth  of  Bay  river.  The  fluor  spar  need  not, 
necessarily,  be  accompanied  by  lead  ore.  It  is  said  that  some  frag- 
ments of  lead  ore  have  also  been  dug  up  at  Mr.  Bird's,  but  the 
-report  is  not  sufficiently  substantiated.  It  would  be  rather  surpris- 
ing that  no  more  mineral  should  have  been  found  amongst  the  rocks, 


408  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

if  there  was  a  vein  of  it.  In  order  to  test  its  existence  excavations 
of  the  surface  material  along  the  bluff  would  .be  required,  which 
should  be  made,  not  at  random,  but  according  to  the  well  estab- 
lished rules  which  mining  engineers  follow  in  testing  new  ground. 

Iron  Ore. — Iron  is  extensively  disseminated  through  the  rocks  of 
this  district,  but  its  ore  is  generally  thoroughly  mixed  with  silex, 
which  not  only  reduces  its  percentage  of  iron,  but  what  is  far  worse, 
damages  its  quality  for  smelting.  The.  Conglomerate,  of  which  I 
have  spoken  in  the  preceding  chapter,  owes  its  solid  character 
principally  to  the  iron,  without  which  it  would  be  merely  a  bed  of 
pebbles.  Still,  the  percentage  of  iron  in  it  is  generally  small. 
Some  sandstones  connected  with  this  Conglomerate,  and  with  the 
lower  strata  of  the  Tertiary  formation,  contain  much  more  iron,  so 
that  they  may  be  looked  upon  as  very  impure,  sandy  iron  ores, 
and  so,  also,  some  portions  of  the  Chester  sandstones;  very  little 
iron  gives,  however,  to  the  rocks  a  dark  color,  and  it  is  exceedingly 
doubtful  whether  such  rocks  could  ever  be  profitably  smelted. 
The  richest  might  perhaps  be  used  in  conjunction  with  pure  and 
rich  ores,  if  convenient  to  a  furnace,  but  as  these  rich  ores  are 
wanting,  the  poorer  ores  cannot  be  worked  to  advantage.  I  noticed 
such  ferruginous  rocks  especially  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
34,  township  14,  range  3,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  17, 
township  14,  range  5,  at  some  points  in  the  bluffs  on  the  Ohio,  on 
a  branch  of  Barren  creek,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  5, 
township  15,  range  6,  and  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  30r 
township  15,  range  7. 

Near  Golithly's  mill,  on  Barren  creek,  and  also  in  part  at  the 
above  mentioned  branch  of  the  creek  in  section  5,  I  observed 
much  richer  iron  ores,  a  brown  hematite  of  fair  quality.  This  ore 
appeared  to  have  been  formed  by  the  chemical  action  of  the  Chester 
limestones  upon  percolating  chalybeate  waters.  The  shape  of  the 
loose  pieces  of  ore,  strewn  over  the  slope,  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  they  did  not  form  part  of  a  large  mass  of  ore,  but  were,  rather, 
disseminated  through  pockets  in  the  rock.  Some  excavations  will 
have  to  be  made  before  this  question  can  be  settled  positively.  A 
bed,  or  probably  bunches  or  pockets  of  ore,  might  perhaps  be  found 
at  the  junction  of  the  limestone  with  the  overlying  sandstone. 

On  Elkhorn  creek,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  1,  township 
16,  range  6,  on  a  knob  of  Conglomerate,  I  noticed  highly  ferrugin- 
ous masses  of  rock,  and  on  the  slope  highly  ferruginous  sandstones, 
and  a  heavy  mass,  very  rich  in  iron,  perhaps  of  similar  origin  as 
those  at  the  above  named  mill.  The  iron  ores  in  this  whole 


MASSAC   AND   POPE     COUNTIES.  409 

district  seem  to  originate  from  the  Ter  tiary  peripd,  when  they  were 
deposited  as  sulphurets,  and  by  gradual  oxidation  changed  into 
sulphates,  aud  permeated  other  strata,  when  they  were  still  further 
changed  to  hydrous  oxids. 

Other  Minerals. — As  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  no  other  minerals 
have  been  discovered  in  this  district  besides  those  already  mentioned. 
Where  the  fluor  spar,  in  connection  with  the  lead  ore,  is  found  in 
sufficient  quantity  and  purity,  it  may  be  sold  for  the  manufacture 
of  hydro-fluoric  acid  which  is  used  in  the  mechanical  arts.  The 
sulphuret  of  iron  is  found  in  large  quantities,  disseminated  through 
some  of  the  Tertiary  beds,  but  it  is  worthless. 

Mineral  Springs. — Of  mineral  springs,  we  can  only  mention  the 
numerous  small  springs  of  copperas  water  along  the  Ohio  beach,  of 
which  I  spoke  in  connection  with  the  Tertiary  formation,  and  a 
similar  spring  on  Elkhorn  creek.  They  are  of  no  economical  or 
medicinal  value. 

Building  Materials. 

Most  of  the  sandstones  of  the  Chester  formation,  which  in  other 
districts  are  partly  very  fine  building  rocks,  are  here  mostly  too 
hard  and  uneven,  and  cannot  be  dressed  with  sufficient  facility  to 
form  desirable  building  rocks.  At  some  points,  however,  tolerable 
good  sandstones  have  been  found,  and  by  proper  search  they  might 
probably  be  discovered  at  other  places.  Various  beds  of  the  Chester 
limestone  will  do  pretty  well  as  building  stones,  and  the  St.  Louis 
limestones  can  be  used  to  advantage.  Those  near  the  Ohio  can  be 
dressed  easily,  are  durable,  and  look  finely.  In  most  parts  of  the 
district  good  brick  could  be  easily  obtained.  Most  of  the  Chester 
limestones  are  two  impure  to  make  a  good  lime,  but  some  can  be 
burned  to  advantage,  although  the  lime  is  not  white.  Some  of  the 
St.  Louis  limestones  are  better  adapted  for  making  quick-lime. 

Sand  for  plastering  is  obtained  at  numerous  points,  as  well  from 
the  Chester  limestones  as  from  the  more  recent  formations. 

The  Conglomerate  and  the  strata  of  pebbles  make  the  very  best 
road  material,  and  can  be  obtained  in  all  parts  of  the  county,  while 
the  white,  fine,  shaly  sand  furnishes,  in  some  places,  a  superior 
polishing  material.  The  Tertiary  shales  and  potter's  clays  are  not 
found  in  this  district  near  enough  to  the  surface,  as  far  as  we 
know,  to  be  available,  although  they  undoubtedly  extend  into  Massac 
county. 


410  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


Agriculture. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  surface  configuration  of  this  district,  I  have 
discussed  in  detail  the  character  of  the  land  in  different  sections  of 
this  county,  together  with  its  growth  of  timber  and  quality  of  soil, 
so  that  I  may  refer  the  reader  to  those  pages.  Although  there  are 
some  dry  and  rather  poor  sections  to  be  found,  the  average  quality 
of  the  land  is  such  that,  if  properly  cultivated,  it  will  rank  amongst 
the  better  lands  of  our  fertile  State,  and  some  portions  cannot  be 
surpassed  by  any  others  in  the  State.  In  some  districts  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  water,  and  wells  of  over  a  hundred  feet  deep  are  dry. 
This  is  a  serious  disadvantage.  It  is  easy  to  procure  water  for  the 
household  use  by  digging  cisterns,  but  it  is  a  drawback  in  the  man- 
agement of  stock. 

Indian  Remains. 

I  cannot  close  these  remarks  without  inviting  the  attention  of  archae- 
ologists to  the  Indian  Mounds  on  Sugar-camp  lake,  in  the  Black- 
Bend  of  the  Ohio.  I  did  not  visit  them  personally,  but  from  .the 
accounts  received,  there  seem  to  have  been  extensive  fortifications 
and  mounds,  which  probably  belong  to  the  same  class  as  those  in 
the  Mississippi  bottom  opposite  St.  Louis,  and  at  other  points  farther 
up  the  Ohio.  My  authority  is  Mr.  Simpson,  who  lives  near  New 
Liberty,  not  far  from  the  Ohio.  He  came  there  with  the  first  white 
settlers,  in  1809,  and  is  satisfied  that  they  could  not  have  been  made 
by  the  Indians  who  then  lived  in  this  vicinity.  They  would,  there- 
fore, seem  to  be  of  much  greater  antiquity. 

NOTE.— The  term  "conglomerate,"  used  by  Mr.  ENGELMANN  in  his  report  on  this  and 
Pulaski  counties,  does  not  refer  to  the  Carboniferous  conglomerate,  but  to  the  ferrugin- 
ous Tertiary  conglomerate  of  those  counties.  A.  H.  W. 


CHAPTEE    XYII. 

POPE  COUNTY,  NORTH  OF  BIG  BAY  RIVEB. 
BY  HENRY  ENGELMANN. 

Pope  county  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Ohio  river  and  Hardin 
county,  on  the  north  by  Saline  county,  on  the  west  by  Johnson  and 
Massac  counties,  while  at  the  south  end  it  comes  to  a  point  between 
the  Massac  county  line  and  the  Ohio.  The  northern  portion  of  the 
county  is  separated  from  its  southern  extension  by  the  Big  Bay  river, 
which  enters  the  county  near  the  southeast  corner  of  Johnson  county, 
and  thence  runs  east  and  southeastward  to  the  Ohio.  In  connection 
with  the  report  on  Massac  county,  I  have  already  discussed  the 
geology  of  the  southern  part  of  Pope  county,  which  forms  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  between  the  Bay  and  Ohio  rivers  and  Massac  county, 
to  which  latter  it  would  seem  naturally  to  belong.  In  the  following 
pages,  I  propose  to  describe  the  northern  portion  of  the  county,  and 
I  will  apply  the  name  of  Pope  county,  generally,  to  that  northern 
portion,  without  further  qualification. 

Northern  Pope  county  embraces  ranges  5  and  6,  and  the  western 
two-thirds  of  range  7,  east  of  the  third  principal  meridian,  in  town- 
ships 11,  12  and  13,  south  of  the  base  line,  except  a  few  square 
miles  cut  off  by  the  Ohio  and  Bay  rivers,  and  also  some  sections  in 
range  6,  township  14,  in  the  fork  of  these  two  streams.  It  contains 
about  277  square  miles,  all  of  which  is  heavily  timbered,  hilly,  and 
more  or  less  broken.  Through  its  extreme  northern  portion,  in  a 
direction  a  little  north  of  east,  extends  the  high  dividing  ridge  which 
forms  the  water-shed  between  the  tributaries  of  the  Saline  river, 
which  runs  northward,  and  the  water  courses  running  southward 
more  directly  toward  the  Ohio.  The  hills  extend  southward  to  the 
bluffs  of  the  Ohio  and  Bay  rivers,  and  there  are  no  extensive  alluvial 
bottom  lands. 


412  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  geological  formations  in  Pope  county  are  the  same  which  pre- 
vail over  Johnson  county,  and  its  surface  configuration,  growth  of 
timber  and  quality  of  soil  are  closely  related  to  those  of  that  county. 
The  Coal  Measures  proper  do  not  extend  into  Pope  county,  but  we 
find,  at  various  points,  outcrops  of  the  thinner  and  more  irregularly 
developed  coal  seams  of  the  Conglomerate,  which  attain  some  local 
importance,  and  also  some  thin  streaks  of  coal  and  carbonaceous, 
matter,  in  the  underlying  Chester  formation.  Iron  ores  are  exten- 
sively distributed  through  this  county.  They  are  mostly  rather 
impure,  and  not  near  enough  to  the  deposits  of  stone  coal  to  be 
worked  at  present;  but  they  will  certainly  become  valuable  in  the 
course  of  time.  Lead  ore  has  been  discovered  at  various  points. 
The  chances  of  its  successful  exploitation  will  be  discussed  under  the 
head  of  Economical  Geology.  A  superior  material  for  queensware  has 
also  been  found,  and  quite  a  number  of  chalybeate  springs  were 
observed,  some  of  which  have  attained  some  local  celebrity. 

Surface  Configuration. 

The  surface  configuration  of  Pope  county  is  analogous  to  that  of 
Johnson  county,  and  closely  connected  with  its  geological  formation. 
The  rocks  are  alternations  of  bodies  of  sandstone,  limestones  and 
shales.  The  sandstones  withstand  disintegration  with  considerable 
force ;  they  form  more  or  less  wide  and  level  ridges,  and  deep  and 
narrow  valleys,  with  steep  slopes,  which  are  frequently  interrupted 
by  boldly  outcropping  ledges  of  rocks,  of  considerable  thickness. 
The  limestones  and  shales,  on  the  contrary,  form  more  rolling  and 
often  gently  sloping  hills,  and  open  arable  valleys.  The  dip  of  the 
strata,  in  part  of  the  county,  is  northward ;  in  another  portion  west- 
ward and  northwestward.  Traversing  the  county  in  these  directions, 
we  find,  therefore,  a  succession  of  high  ridges,  mostly  gently  sloping, 
with  the  dip  of  the  strata  to  the  north  or  northwest,  and  present- 
ing abrupt  declivities  to  the  south  and  southeast ;  they  are  generally 
capped  with  ledges  of  sand-rock,  while  the  lower  slopes  are  frequently 
underlaid  with  shales  and  limestones,  and  are  much  less  steep  than 
the  upper  ones.  Each  successive  ridge  is  generally  formed  by  a 
formation  higher  or  lower,  in  the  geological  series,  than  that  of 
which  the  preceding  and  following  ones  are  composed.  The  water- 
courses sometimes  run  parallel  to  the  trend  of  the  strata,  and  con- 
.  tinue  for  long  distances  between  the  same  ledges  of  rocks ;  some- 
times they  break  through  the  strata,  at  considerable  angles  to  their 
trend,  and  form  cross  valleys.  The  northwestern  portion  of  the 


POPE    COUNTY.  413 

county,  near  the  head  waters  of  Big  Bay  river  and  Lusk  creek  is 
entirely  occupied  by  the  sandstones  of  the  Conglomerate,  and  'are 
roughly  broken,  far  more  so  than  most  of  the  other  portions  of  the 
county,  although  high  hills  and  cliffs  extend  south  to  the  Ohio  and 
Bay  rivers,  and  continue  across  the  latter.  The  soil  in  the  ridges 
and  on  the  slopes  is  generally  a  yellow  sandy  loam,  such  as  we 
have  described  in  Johnson  county.  It  sustains  a  fine  growth  of 
white  oak,,  black  oak  and  hickory,  much  mixed,  on  the  more  calca 
reous  tracts,  with  the  yellow  poplar.  The  agriculturist  will  perceive 
that  this  soil  must  be  rich  and  strong,  and  that,  with  proper  tillage 
this  district  will  rank  high  amongst  the  rich  agricultural  lands  of 
our  State. 

Geological   Formations. 

The  geological  formations  of  Pope   county  correspond  to  those  of 
Johnson  county,  which  have  already  been  described  in  detail     They 
all  belong  to  the  lower  division  of   the  Carboniferous   period    to  the 
Conglomerate,    Chester  group,  and   the    St.    Louis   limestone      The 
Coal   Measures    proper   do   not    extend   into    Pope    county,  but  the 
Conglomerate    contains    several   thin    strata    of    stone-coal    in    this 
county,  and  the  Chester  group  still  thinner  seams,  which  latter  are 
however,  of  interest  only  to  the  student  of  geology,  and  of  no  prac- 
tical value.     In   the   northwestern   half   of   Pope  county  the   strata 
form  the  undisturbed  continuation  of  those  of  Johnson  county  being 
moderately  upheaved,  and  dipping  generally  a  few  degrees  to'  north 
or  northwest.    More  violent  disturbances  have   taken   place   farther 
southeast,  by  which  the  continuity  of  the  strata   has  been  partially 
destroyed.    A  fault  passes  diagonally  from   southwest   to  northeast 
through  the  northern  part  of  this   county,  from   near  the   southeast 
3orner  of   Johnson  to  the   northwest  corner  of  Hardin   county    and 
continues  farther  into  Saline  county.     The  strata  visibly  affected  by 
this  disturbance  are  the  Conglomerate  and  the  Chester  group    North 
west    as  well   as    southeast  of  it,  the   strata   dip,  generally,  to  the 
northwest  or  north.     Over  a  considerable  distance  it  appears  to  form 
a  regular  fault,  the  southeastern   portion   having  slid   down   several 
hundred  feet.    At   other   portions  of   the   line  the  disruption  of  the 
strata  appears  to  have    been   less    complete.     There  a  violent  uplift 
only  seems  to  have  taken   place   over  a  narrow  space,  whereby  the 
lower  strata  have  been  brought  to  the  surface  in  a  narrow  anticlinal 
i'he  strata  on  the  summit  and  southeastern  flank  of  the  fold 
which  were  considerably  fractured  and  disrupted,  have  subsequently 


414  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

been  disintegrated  and  eroded   to  a   greater   or  less  degree    leaving 
the  lower  strata  exposed.    The   rocks   on  the  northwestern  flank  c 
the  fold,  the  dip  of  which  corresponds,  in   direction,  to  the  general 
dip   of   the   formation,    show   very   little  apparent    disturbance.    In 
consequence  of   this  fault  the  Conglomerate  occupies  the  northwest- 
ern part  of  the  county,  and  another  band  of  the  same  rock  appears 
in   the  southeast,    passing   diagonally   across  it    and  surrounded 
outcrops  of  the  Chester  strata. 

In  the  southwest  part  of  the  county,  near  Big  Bay  river,  the 
strata  dip  northward.  Along  the  Ohio,  above  the  mouth  of  Bay 
river  the  dip  is  north  of  west,  and  along  the  east  line  of  the 
county  the  dip  is  westward.  This  last  change  is  caused  by  an 
upheaval  in  the  western  part  of  Hardin  county,  where,  near  the 
southeast  corner  of  township  11,  range  7,  some  upper  Devonian 
rocks  are  thrust  to  the  surface  at  a  point  from  which  the 
dip  for  miles  in  every  direction. 

St.  Louis  Limestone. 

The    St    Louis   limestone    occupies    only   a   small   area   in   Pope 
county,  near  the  Hardin  county  line,  east  of  Grand  Pierre  creek  and, 
perhaps,  at   the  base  of   the  Ohio   bluffs,  below   Golconda.    At 
former   point    it   occupies  about  one  square   mile,  in   the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  22,  and  the  east  part  of  section  27  and  34   town- 
ship  11,  range   7,  rising   eastward   from   underneath  the  sandstone 
No    8  of   the  Chester  series   towards  the  above  mentioned  centre  < 
upheaval   in   Hardin   county,    which   it    surrounds    from   aJl   sides 
This  rock  is  readily    distinguished   from  the  Chester  strata,  NOB.  9 
and    10  of   which   seem  to  be    wanting   here,  so  that  it  is    dire  t  y 
overlaid  by  the  sandstone  No.  8  of   the  series.    Its  aggregate  thick- 
ness  reaches   several   hundred  feet,    but   only    its  upper  port, 
exposed  in  Pope  county. 

The  St.  Louis  limestone,  at  this  point,  is  of  pure  bluish  or  pale 
grayish  colors,  partly  compact  and  of  a  close,  finely  and  even  y 
grained  texture,  partly  sub -crystalline,  and  much  of  it  coarsely 
crystalline.  Some  of  the  layers,  especially  in  the  lower  division  of 
the  formation,  are  darker  blue  and  full  of  concretions  of  chert. 
Fragments  of  the  latter  fill  the  bed  of  all  the  ravines  and  branches, 

and  thus  afford  a  characteristic  sign  of  the  presence  of   this 

^On  the  Ohio  the   Chester  sandstone   No.  8  forms   the  bluffs  near 
the  east  line  of  the  county,  but  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  or  else  the 


POPK   COUNTY.  415 

limestone  No.  9  of  the  Chester  series,  must  reach  close  to  the  sur- 
face at  their  base.    Limestones  rise  gradually  above  the  low-water 
me  of  the  Ohio,  a  mile  and  a  half  below  the  mouth  of  Lusk  creek 
slow  Golconda,  and   soon   become   more  prominent,  and   form  the 
base  of   the  bluffs,  the   more  conspicuous    summit   ledges   of  which 
consist  of  Chester   sandstone.     They  thus   continue  to  the  Bay  bot- 
om,  and  appear  to  descend  underneath  the  water  level  a  short  dis- 
tance below  the  lower  Bay  ridge,  near  the  north  line  of  section  22 
township  14,  range  6,  rising  again  and  forming  conspicuous  outcrops 
on  the  west  side  of  Bay  river. 

These  rocks,  in  the  Ohio  bluffs,  differ  considerably  in  their  litho- 
logical character  and  general  appearance  from  the  Chester  limestones 
They  are  whitish   or  light   bluish,   partly   coarsely  crystalline,   and 
rather  purely  calcareous,  partly  close-textured,  splintery  in  fracture 
and  full  of  concretions  of  chert.     I  noticed  in  them  no  Archimedes' 
but  numerous  Pentremites,  such  as  P.  godoni  (HALL),  and  other  Ches- 
er  fossils.     They  are  generally  badly  preserved.    I  did  not  get  any 
from  the  lowest  layers  of  these  outcrops  between  Golconda  and  the 
Bay  river,  and  can  therefore  not  say  positively  how  thick  this  Ches- 
ter limestone  No.  9  is  in  this  vicinity.     To  judge  from  the  exposures 
near  Eosiclare,  I  would  expect  the  Chester  limestone  to  be  thick  (at 
Bosiclare  it  measures  100  feet),  and  not  to  find  the  St.  Louis  lime- 
stone above  the  Ohio  level  in  these  bluffs. 

The  Chester  Group— Lower  Division. 

I  have  shown  in  the  foregoing  pages  that  the  lowest  members- 
Nos  9  and  10  of  the  Chester  series-do  not  appear  to  be  developed 
m  the  northeast  of  Pope  county,  near  the  Hardin  county  line 
although  their  representatives  may  yet  be  found  there,  but  that 
they  crop  out  on  the  Ohio,  below  Golconda,  as  the  lowest  strata  in 
he  bluffs  between  Lusk  creek  and  Bay  river,  which  are  capped  by 
the  sandstone  No.  8  of  the  Chester  series.  These  strata  there  are 
differently  developed,  and  present  a  different  lithological  appearance 

LTof  T-tT  1  ^  N0*  9'  in  J°hn80n  and  the  ^™™Z  Ci- 
ties, of  which  they  form  the  continuation.  Their  lithological  char- 
acter exhibits  a  far  greater  affinity  to  the  St.  Louis  limestone,  from 
which  they  cannot  readily  be  separated  here,  except  by  their  fossils. 
The  sandstone  No.  8  holds  a  prominent  position,  and  attains  a 
thickness  of  probably  250  feet,  where  it  is  best  developed.  It  is 
generally  a  more  or  less  fine-grained,  siliceous  sandstone,  mostly  of 
whitish  or  hght  yellowish-brown  colors,  often  full  of  minute  brownish 


416  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

specks  from  oxide  of  iron.     It  sometimes  forms  heavy,  massive  layers 
or  breaks  in  thin,  smooth   or  irregular   slabs,  and  is  generally  well 
suited  for  ordinary  building  purposes.    It  occupies  a  narrow  area  on 
the  east    side  of   the  county,  between   the    Hardin   county  line   and 
Grand  Pierre  creek,  as  far  as  it  is  not  taken  up  by  the  above  men- 
tioned outcrops  of  the  St.  Louis  limestone.    From  the  large  bend  of* 
Grand  Pierre  creek,  near  the  county  line,  in  the  southeast  quarter 
of  section  15,  township  11,  range  7,  half  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of 
the  East  Fork,  southward  to  the  Ohio,  this  sandstone  occupies  the 
east  side  of  the  creek,  dipping  westward,  while  higher  Chester  strata 
form  the   bluffs   on  the  west   bank.     The    Stockton   ford    of   Grand 
Pierre    at  which  some  galena  has  been  discovered,  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  22,  township   12,  range  7,  is  also  formed  by  this 
sandstone,  which   there   reaches -to  the  west    side  of   the    creek, 
extends,  also,  half    a  mile  up  Little    Grand  Pierre,  forming  several 
fords  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  33,  township  12,  range  7. 
On  the  Ohio  it  forms   prominent   bluffs,  from   the  Grand   Pierre  1 
the  Hardin  county  line,  and  also  for  about  a  mile  below  the  mouth 
of  that  creek;  but  then  it  dips  underneath  the  low-water  level,  below 
the  Rock  Quarry  landing,  in  the  middle  of  the  west  half  of  section 
4   township  13,  range  7.    The  higher  Chester  strata  form  the  bluffs 
of  the  Ohio  from  this  point  to  the  mouth  of  Lusk  creek,  above  Gol- 
conda;  but  the    sandstone   reappears   underneath   them  half  a  milt 
above  'the  mouth  of  Lusk  creek,  near  the  south  line  of  section  18, 
township  13,  range     ,  and  may  be  seen  at  various  points  from  there 
to  Golconda,  at  times  of  low  water.     It  becomes  prominent  again 
below  Lusk   creek,  at  Golconda,  where  it   rises   rapidly  into  a  high 
cliff,  and   continues  as  the   most    characteristic   formation,  capping 
the  'Ohio  bluffs  to  the  Bay  river  bottom,  into  the  north  part  of  sec- 
tion 23,  township    14,  range   6,  while  a  mile    and   a   quarter   below 
Lusk  creek  the   lowest  Chester  limestone  rises  above   the  low-wate 
mark,  and,  thence  on,  occupies  the  base  of  the  bluff. 

Back  of  the  Ohio  this  sandstone   extends  a  short  distance  on  t 
south  bank  of   Lusk   creek;  then  it  occupies   the  ridge  back  of  the 
river  bluffs,  towards  Mill  creek,  on  the  east  side  of  which  it  can  t 
traced  through  the  eastern  portion  of  section  35,  township  13,  range 
6-  and  the  sandstone  in  the  south  part  of  section  3,  an    the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  3,  township  14,  range  6,  at  the  edge  of  Bay 
river  bottom,  would  still   seem   to  belong  to  this   formation,   which 
appears  to  dip  underneath  to  the  water  level  of  the  Bay  in  the  north 
half  of  section  8,  but  is  not  exposed  there.     On  the  south  side  of  Bay 
river  this  sandstone  forms  thebluff  as  far  up  as  section  8. 


POPE   COUNTY.  417 


The  Chester  Group— Upper  Division. 

The  study  of  this  part  of  the  formation  was  rendered   somewhat 
difficult  by  the  various  upheavals  and  faults  of  which  I  have  spoken 
above,  and  which   cause,  at   many  points,  an  abrupt  alternation  of 
the  formation.     Still,  after  having  once  discovered  the  true  character 
of  these  disturbances,  I  was  enabled  to  trace  the  different  sub-divi- 
sions of  the  Chester  series  with   a  considerable  degree  of  exactness 
The  section  which  is  given  of  them,  in  my  report  on  Johnson  county 
.   seems,  however,  not  to   answer  altogether   for  their   development  in 
Pope  county,  especially  in  the  eastern  part.     The  lowest  limestone- 
No.  7  of  the  series— seems  to  retain  the  thickness  and  general  char- 
acter which  it  presented  in  Johnson  county,  but  not  so  the  higher 
numbers,  especially  the  sandstone   No.  2,  which  appears  to  become 
reduced  to  a  few  feet  in  thickness,  so  that  the  limestone  Nos    1  and 
3  are  sometimes  exposed  in  the  same  slopes,  without  a  very  notice- 
able interruption.     Such  a  change  cannot  surprise  us  in  a  formation 
which  consists  of   such  numerous  alternations  of  entirely  different 
rocks,  each  of  which  demands  for  its  formation  a  complete  change 
I  conditions,  including  the  depth  and  extent  of  the  ocean  the  prox- 
imity and  elevation  of  the  dry  land,  etc. ;  and  that  such  changes  of 
level  have    actually  and   repeatedly  taken  place    during  the  Chester 
period,  is,  moreover,  placed  beyond  doubt,  by  the  thin  seams  of  coal 
which   we   observe   in   various   parts   of  the   formation,  and   which 
required  for  their   formation   a  very  shallow  stage   of  the  water   or 
rather  marshy  flats,  as  they  are  undoubtedly  formed  by  the  accumu- 
lation of   a  swamp  growth  of  plants,  while  the   sandstones   contain 
some  remains  of  similar  plants ;  but  the  limestones  above  and  below 
them  contain  exclusively  marine  shells,  which  could  only  have  lived 
and  been  deposited  in  the  ocean. 

The  upper  division  of  the  Chester   series,  between   the  sandstone 
8  and  the  Conglomerate,  occupies   a   considerable   area   in  this 
listrict,  west   and   northwest   of   the   above   mentioned  outcrops  of 
sandstone,  extending   to  the  main   bluff  ridge  of  the  Conglomerate 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  county,  which  stretches  from  a  short 
Iistance  northwest  of  Glendale  to  near  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
mnty.     Within  this  area,  however,  the  above  mentioned  fault  occurs 
which  runs  diagonally  from  northeast   to  southwest,  through  nearly 
the  whole  county,  and  on  the  southeast  side  of  which  the  Conglom 
erate    again   occupies   a   prominent   ridge,   locally  several    miles   in 
th,  jvhich,  of  course,  diminishes  the   area  of  the  Chester  group 


418  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

This  ridge  is  the  one  which  begins  west  of  the  mouth  of  the  east  fork  of 
Grand  Pierre,  and  forms  the  dividing  summit  between  that  and  Little 
and  Lusk  creeks,  with  an  abrupt  eastern  edge,  and  sloping  towards  the 
last  named  creeks;   it  is  cut  in  twain  by  Lusk  creek,  which  breaks 
through  it  at  its  principal  bend,  above  the  mouth  of  Batys  branch 
but  continues  southwest  from  there  round  the  heads  of  Flat  Lick 
and  Root  Lick  branches  towards  Dixon  Springs.     Southeast  of  this 
ridge  all  the  members  of  the  Upper  Chester  series  are  represented; 
but  northwest  of  it  only  the  higher  members  are  exposed,  as 
I  could  discover. 

The  bluff  of  the  Ohio  at  the  mouth  of  Lusk  creek,  just  north 
Golconda,  in  the  middle  of  section  19,  township  13,  range  7,  pm 
the  following  section : 

1.  Sandstone,  capping  the  bluff;  No.  6  of  the  Chester  series  20  to  30  feet 

2.  Slope,  strewn  with  sandstone,  and  probably  also  underlaid  with  it. 

3.  Siliceous  limestone,  not  all  well  exposed 

4.  Slaty  shales,  principally • g 

5  Siliceous  ami  slaty  limestone •• ; 

6  Slope,  apparently  underlaid  partly  with  shales,  partly  with  limestones.... 

7.  Covered  with  the  sandy  alluvium  of  the  river  bank 

8.  Sandstone  No.  8  to  low-water  mark 

Total  height,  from  183  to  193  feet. 

The  limestones  present  the  ordinary  lithological  character  of  the 
limestone  No.  7,  are  all  highly  siliceous,  impure,  of  grayish  color, 
and  are  mostly  semi-crystalline  or  sub-crystalline.  They  contain 
numerous  fossils,  Archimedes,  Spirifer,  Athyris,  Pentremites  and 
Corals ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  fine  specimens. 

As  we  turn  up  the  Ohio  river  we  find  the  sandstone  No.  8  dis- 
appears below  the  low-water  mark,  near  the  south  line  of  section  18, 
and  the  bluff  is  then  entirely  composed  of  the  limestone  No.  7, 
and  the  sandstone  No.  6,  of  the  Chester  series.  The  strata  dip 
northwestward,  while  the  river  runs  southward  in  section  18.  Near 
the  north  line  of  section  18  the  limestone  also  partially  disappears 
underground,  and  only  its  highest  ledges  form  the  bank  of  the  river, 
while  the  bluff  is  principally  composed  of  the  overlying  sandstone. 
Thus  it  continues  through  section  8,  where  the  river  runs  nearly 
parallel  to  the  trend  of  the  strata.  On  the  west  side  of  section  4 
the  limestone  has  again  attained  an  altitude  of  80  feet  above  low- 
water  mark,  and  a  short  distance  farther  on,  near  the  Rock  Quarry 
landing,  the  sandstone  No.  8  has  once  more  reached  the  surface, 
and  the  higher  members  of  the  formation  do  not  extend  any  farther 

up  the  river. 

Turning  north,  along  Grand  Pierre  creek,  we   find  this  sands 
occupying   its  east  bank   for  more  than   10  miles,  as   before  stated. 


POPE    COUNTY. 


The   first  exposure  on  the   west  side  is  over  a  mile   from  the    Ohio 
between  the    forks  of   the  main  creek    and  the  Little  Grand  Pierre' 
where    this    sandstone    forms   the   bed  and   bank   of   both    streams' 
%    while  the  limestone  No.    7,  capped    by  the  sandstone  No.  6,    forms 
the  bluffs.     Although  not  everywhere  plainly  exposed,  these'  forma- 
tions continue  in  this  position  north,  along  the   west  side  of   Grand 
Pierre  creek,  through  township    12,  and  the  south  part  of   township 
11.     In  the  southeast  quarter  of   section  15,  township    11,  range   7 
near   the   Hardin  county   line,    the  sandstone  No.  8  is  still  exposed 
m  the  bank  of  the  creek,  while  the  limestone  No.  7,  and  the  sand- 
stone No.  6,  form  the  bluff  on  the  west  side  of  the  creek,  near  by 
From   this   point,  however,    the   sandstone    No.  8   trends    eastward 
into  Hardm  county,  and  the  sandstone  which  crops  out  half  a  mile 
farther  north,  on  the  main  creek,  and  on  the  east  fork  in  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  15,  is  probably  the  higher  sandstone,  No    6 
From  the   forks  of   Grand   Pierre  creek   it  is  not   more   than  one 
and  one  half  or  two  miles  north  to  the  high  dividing  ridge  of   Con- 
glomerate.    The    Chester  strata    dip,    therefore,    rapidly   northward 
one  after  the  other.     This  may  be  seen  to  the  best  advantage  on  a 
branch   of  the    east   fork,    which   runs   from   north   to   south     just 
beyond  the  line  of   Hardin  county,  through,  sections  2  and    11.     On 
we   find  the   whole  series  of   the  upper   Chester   strata,  in   their 
regular  order  of  sequence. 

On   the  upper  course  of  the  main  creek    the  stratification  is  ren- 
ered  very  irregular  by   the  combined  influences  of   the  two  distur- 
bances,-of  the  one  which  centres  on  the  west  side  of  Hardin  county 
and   would   here  cause  a  strong   dip   to   the  northwest,  and   of   the 
continuation  of  the  diagonal  fault,  which  may  here,  perhaps,  merely 
cause  an  uplift.     Near  the  ford,  on  the  Golconda  and  Equality  road 
a  short    distance  above   the  mouth   of   the  east   fork,  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of   section  15,  we  find  the  bed  and  the  bank  of  Grand 
lerre  creek  formed  of  sandstone,  as  stated  above.    A  little  farther 
up   the  creek,    where  these  strata  have    dipped  underneath    the  bed 
the  creek,  a  considerable  bluff  of  Chester  limestone  sets  in-   and 
the  next  outcrop,  at  the  south  point  of  the  following  bend,  consists 
ate          limestone,    perhaps   the    same  as    the   last    mentioned,    but 
farther   up   the  creek.     Alternating   sandstones    and   limestones     of 
the  higher  portion  of  the  Chester  series,  follow  in  rapid  succession 
dipping  successively  underground    northward.     Thus,  just  below 
the  mouth  of  the  western  branch,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section 
15,  we   find  a  limestone  in  the  bed  of   the  creek,  apparently  No    3- 
close  above   the  mouth  of   the    branch    a  sandstone,  No.    2-  and   a 


420  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

little  farther  up,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  9,  the  succeed- 
ing limestone  No.  1  of  the  Chester  series  forms  the  bed  of  the 
creek,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  hills.  Near  the  first  outcrop  of 
this  limestone,  the  current,  some  years  ago,  washed  a  deep  hole  in  _ 
the  bed  of  the  creek,  and  laid  bare  a  stratum  of  slates,  and  a  little 
coal  was  also  said  to  have  been  found  here.  Up  the  main^creek, 
through  section  9,  the  limestone  continues,  capped  by  the  Conglo- 
merate sandstone.  It  seems  to  dip  northwestward  like  the  others. 
In  the  north  part  of  section  9  this  sandstone  reaches  to  the  foot 
of  the  hills,  and  farther  on,  heavy  cliffs  of  it  extend  along  the 
creek  in  the  north  part  of  section  9,  and  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  4.  Then,  for  some  distance,  no  rocks  were  observed  in 
place,  but  on  nearing  the  county  line,  I  noticed  Chester  limestones 
in  the  bed  of  the  creek  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  5,  appar- 
ently No.  3  of  the  series ;  and  near  by  the  Chester  limestone  No.  1 
reaches  high  up  in  the  hilh,  and  is  exposed  on  the  north  side  of 
the  county  line,  on  both  sides  of  the  valley,  north  of  the  northwest 
corner  of  section  5,  and  north  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 

5,  and  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  4.     Underneath  it  traces  of 
the  sandstone   No.  2   were    discovered  at   several  points.    Only   the 
very   highest  summit  of   the  ridge,  near   the  county  line,  in  section 

6,  and  in  the  northwest    quarter  of    section  4,  consists  of   the  Con- 
glomerate.   The   limestone    appears,    however,    to  extend   merely   a 
short   distance  into  Saline  county,  and   then  to    dip    rapidly   to  the 
northwestward,  underneath  the  Conglomerate. 

These  last  exposures  of  the  Chester  limestone,  near  the  head  of 
Grand  Pierre  creek,  are  situated  on  the  line  of  the  before  mentioned 
northeast  and  southwest  fault.  It  is  raised  here  to  a  high  elevation, 
when  we  should  expect  it  deep  underground,  if  the  dip  continued 
as  before  and  the  continuity  of  the  strata  was  not  broken.  The 
exposures  were,  however,  too  limited  to  determine,  without  more 
minute  investigation  whether  we  have  a  regular  fault  or  break  in 
the  strata,  as  farther  southwest,  or  whether  the  fault  has  here  been 
changed  into  a  mere  violent  uplift,  with  an  anticlinal  axis  and 
without  an  actual  break  in  the  continuity  of  the  formation. 

Near  the  western  branch  of  Grand  Pierre  we  find  the  uppermost 
Chester  limestone  in  the  slope  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  9, 
township  11,  range  7,  and  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  16, 
and  in  the  bed  of  the  branch  farther  west,  in  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  17,  where  the  Conglomerate  reaches  nearly  down  to  the 
water  level.  A  sandstone,  apparently  No.  2,  forms  the  bed  of  the 
branch  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17  and  the  northwest 


POPE    COUNTY.  421 

quarter  of  section  16;  but  the  hills  on  the  southeast  side  of  the 
branch,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  16,  appear  to  be  com- 
posed of  the  Conglomerate,  and  the  formations  here  seem  not  only 
to  be  disturbed  in  their  stratification,  but  also  irregularly  developed. 
Some  distance  up  the  hill,  on  the  south  side  of  the  branch,  on  the 
west  side  of  section  16,  I  noticed,  under  the  roots  of  a  fallen  tree, 
slate  and  some  particles  of  coal,  and  sandstone  seemed  to  form  the 
hill  in  a  much  disturbed  position,  apparently  the  Conglomerate. 
Farther  up  the  branch,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  17,  its  bank 
consists  of  slates,  which,  at  their  base,  appear  to  contain  a  carbon- 
aceous streak.  Mr.  John  S.  Johnson,  who  lives  near  by,  bored 
there,  and  thinks  he  passed  through  a  thin  seam  of  coal,  some  feet 
below  the  bed  of  the  branch;  but  he  is  not  positive  about  it.  The 
hillside  west  from  there  shows  prominent  cliffs  of  sandstone.  At 
Mr.  Johnson's  house,  on  the  north  side  of  section  20,  there  is  some 
sandstone  exposed  in  the  branch,  and  higher  up  some  shale  and 
slate,  with  16  inches  of  coal,  which  is  said  to  be  rotten  and  impure, 
and  unfit  for  use  in  the  blacksmith  shop.  A  few  feet  higher  up  the 
hill  we  observe  a  heavy  cliff  of  sandstone;  then  again  some  large 
blocks  of  Chester  limestone,  which  can  not  be  far  out  of  place,  while 
the  higher  portion  of  the  hill  consists  of  Conglomerate.  The  ex- 
posures in  this  vicinity  are  quite  puzzling,  and  I  can  only  explain 
them  as  a  local  irregularity  in  the  development  of  the  formations. 

Turning  south,  on  the  west  side  of  the  main  Grand  Pierre  creek, 
we  find  numerous  outcrops  of  the  different  Chester  limestones  and 
sandstones,  which  are  here  crowded  into  a  narrow  belt,  between  the 
creek  and  the  dividing  ridge  to  the  west,  which  is  capped  by  the 
Conglomerate.  With  these  Chester  strata  we  find,  at  several  points, 
a  thin  seam  of  coal.  Thus,  near  Mr.  Weston's  place,  in  a  ravine 
half  a  mile  west  of  the  creek,  six  inches  of  an  impure  shaly  coal 
were  observed  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  21,  township  11,  range  7.  It  occurs  apparently  in  the  upper 
layers  of  one  of  the  sandstones,  probably  No.  4  of  the  series ;  while 
limestones  crop  out  close  by.  A  thin  seam  of  coal  is  said  to  have 
been  discovered,  also,  on  a  ravine  on  the  west  side  of  section  4  (?), 
township  12,  range  7,  and  more  on  a  branch  near  the  middle  of  the 
north  line  of  section  17,  township  12,  range  7,  apparently,  also,  in 
the  sandstone  No.  4,  where  it  is  said  to  have  varied  in  thickness 
from  half  an  inch  to  four  inches. 

The  upper  limestone,  No.  1,  was  observed  high  up  towards  the 
ridge,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  29  ( ?),  township  11,  range 
7,  and  again  at  the  head  of  a  branch  near  the  west  line  of  section 


422  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OP   ILLINOIS. 

5,  township  12,  range  7.  Following  down  that  branch  through  sec- 
tion 8,  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17,  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  16,  and  the  south  part  of  section  9,  to  Grand  Pierre  creek, 
I  again  observed  the  various  members  of  the  Chester  series.  First 
in  section  5,  west  of  the  Golconda  and  Equality  road,  the  limestone 
No.  7,  which  was  there  partly  bluish-gray,  close-textured,  nearly 
conchoidal  in  fracture,  full  of  concretions  of  flint,  and  partly  gray 
and  semi-crystalline.  It  is  at  least  80  feet  thick,  and  probably  much 
more,  and  is  capped  by  the  Conglomerate.  On  the  east  side  of  the 
road,  on  the  south  side  of  section  5  and  in  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  8,  we  next  find  in  the  bed  and  bank  of  the  branch,  some 
shaly  layers  and  thin  and  uneven  strata  of  sandstone,  which  evi- 
dently underlie  the  above  named  limestone,  and  seem  to  be  No.  2 
of  the  series.  Where  the  branch  next  turns  eastward,  in  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  8,  a  ledge  of  this  sandstone  may  be  seen 
rising  in  the  hillside ;  and  we  soon  find  the  next  lower  limestone, 
No.  3,  rising  to  the  surface  from  underneath  it.  At  the  next  bend, 
towards  the  south,  the  next  lower  sandstone,  No.  4  of  the  Chester 
series,  is  then  exposed  in  the  south  part  of  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  8,  and  continues  along  the  branch  through  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  '3,  and  into  the  north  part  of  section  17.  This 
sandstone  attains  a  considerable  thickness,  but  many  of  its  layers 
are  thin,  hard  and  uneven,  and  it  contains  the  thin  streak  of  coal 
already  mentioned.  In  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  17,  and 
farther  down,  we  find  the  limestone  formation  No.  5,  and  near  an 
old  mill  site,  near  the  middle  of  the  north  line  of  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  16  (?),  the  next  lower  sandstone,  No.  6;  while  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  farther  east,  on  the  banks  of  Grand  Pierre  creek, 
the  limestone  No.  7  is  exposed,  capped  by  No.  6,  as  well  below  as 
above  the  mouth  of  the  branch.  The  sandstone  No.  8  makes  its 
appearance  first  a  short  distance  east  of  the  creek,  west  of  the  north- 
east corner  of  section  16. 

Near  the  mouth  of  Little  Grand  Pierre,  in  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  33,  township  12,  range  7,  the  bed  of  the  creek  is  formed 
by  the  sandstone  No.  8,  which  here  dips  underground,  and  the  hills 
by  the  limestone  No.  7  and  the  sandstone  No.  6.  No.  7  continues  to 
form  the  base  of  the  hills  on  the  north  side  of  Little  Grand  Pierre, 
through  section  33 ;  but  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  32  the 
sandstone  No.  6  has  dipped  down  to  the  water  level.  No.  7  is  no 
more  exposed  in  this  vicinity;  only  at  the  foot  of  the  bills  on  the 
southeast  side  of  the  west  branch,  near  the  middle  of  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  32,  its  presence  is  indicated  by  numerous  sink- 


POPE    COUNTY.  423 

holes.  The  sandstone  No.  6  extends  some  distance  up  the  Little 
Grand  Pierre.  It  forms  a  ford  on  a  county  road,  near  the  middle 
of  the  south  line  of  section  29,  while  the  hills  on  both  sides  of  the 
creek,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  29  and  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  32,  are  mainly  composed  of  the  limestone  No.  5, 
capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  4. 

On  the  west  branch  No.  6  is  exposed  at  various  points  in  the 
southeast  portion  of  section  32,  while  No.  5  forms  the  hills  on  the 
north  side  of  the  branch,  in  the  middle  of  section  32,  generally 
capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  4,  and  extends  in  the  base  of  the 
bluffs  through  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  32  and  probably 
into  section  31,  where  it  appears  to  dip  underground.  Farther  up 
the  west  branch  there  seems  to  be  a  local  irregularity  in  the  strati- 
fication, for  at  the  ford,  on  the  Golconda  and  Equality  road,  we  find 
sandstones  which  would  naturally  appear  to  form  the  continuation 
•of  the  last  named  ledges,  but  really  seem  to  be  the  lower  sandstone 
No.  6,  because  from  their  northward  dip  we  find  limestones  in  the 
foot  of  the  hills  and  at  some  points  reaching  high  up  on  the  slopes, 
capped  by  a  sandstone  which  cannot  possibly  be  any  other  than 
No.  4.  The  limestone  No.  5  continues  thus  along  the  creek  through 
the  northwest  corner  of  section  31  and  the  west  part  of  section  30. 
Then  No.  4  descends  to  the  bank  of  the  creek,  extending  through 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  19  and  into  the  northwest  quarter. 
It  is  overlaid  and  succeeded  by  the  limestone  No.  3,  which  is  exposed 
along  the  creek  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  18,  township  12, 
range  7,  and  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section  26  and  the  northeast 
quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  13,  township  12,  range  6. 
A  thin  body  of  sandstone  then  follows  in  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  13,  evidently  No.  2;  and  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
13,  and  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  12,  the  creek  runs 
through  the  limestone  formation  No.  1,  which  is  here  hard,  close- 
textured,  sub-conchoidal  in  fracture,  bluish-gray  in  color,  and  highly 
siliceous.  From  the  last  outcrop  of  this  limestone  the  Conglomerate 
reaches  to  the  summit  of  the  dividing  ridge  towards  Lusk  creek. 
Two  miles  farther  south,  on  the  north  side  of  section  25,  township 
12,  range  6,  this  ridge  is  equally  high,  and  falls  off  even  more  pre- 
cipitously to  the  eastward;  but  there  the  Conglomerate  is  much 
thinner,  and  underlaid  high  up  on  the  hillside  with  a  Chester  lime- 
stone, which  is,  however,  not  much  exposed.  Underneath  this 
follows  a  heavy  and  prominent  ledge  of  sandstone,  which  must  cor- 
respond to  No.  2,  but  has  much  more  the  general  appearance  of  an. 
outcrop  of  the  Conglomerate  than  No.  2  generally  presents.  Lower 


424  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

down  follows,  partially  exposed,  the  limestone  No.  3,  while  the 
limestone  No.  5  seems  to  form  the  bank  of  the  west  branch,  and 
the  sandstone  No.  4  the  lower  slopes,  although  the  latter  is  not 
exposed  just  there.  The  upper  part  of  this  section  reminded  me 
much  of  what  I  had  observed  at  Mr.  Johnson's,  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  20,  township  11,  range  7. 

Near  the  Golconda  and  Marion  road  the  Conglomerate  forms  the 
summit  of  the  same  ridge  in  the  middle  of  section  35,  township  12, 
range  6 ;  the  southern  slope,  however,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  35,  contains  the  uppermost  Chester  limestone,  and  the  sand- 
stone No.  2  was  observed  at  the  foot  of  the  ridge.  Through  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  2  and  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
1,  township  13,  range  6,  we  find  principally  the  limestone  No.  3 
along  the  road,  capped  in  places  by  the  sandstone  No.  2.  These 
two  still  form  the  low  ridge  near  the  north  line  of  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  12,  but  do  not  reach  farther  south  near  the  road. 
In  section  12  the  sandstone  No.  4  is  only  found  off  the  road  at  the 
head  of  ravines. 

Mr.  Gordon  Thompson,  in  digging  a  well  at  his  house,  near  the 
road,  in  the  middle  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  12,  passed 
through  16  feet  of  soil  and  clay,  then  a  thin  layer  of  this  sandstone, 
then  15  feet  of  shaly  slate,  and  finally,  according  to  his  own  account, 
through  18  inches  of  stone  coal  and  black  shale.  This  appears  to 
be  the  same  coal  seam  which  has  been  discovered  six  miles  farther 
northeast,  on  the  branch  of  Grand  Pierre,  where  it  was  quite  thin. 
The  sandstone  found  on  the  ridge  in  section  13  still  appears  to 
belong  to  No.  4,  and  only  those  nearest  the  Ohio  and  Lusk  creek 
to  No.  6.  The  intermediate  limestone,  No.  5,  is  not  exposed  on 
the  road. 

At  the  mouth  of  Lusk  creek,  on  its  north  side,  we  have  the  Ches- 
ter sandstone  No.  8  in  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  Chester  lime- 
stone No.  7,  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  6,  in  the  bluffs.  I  have 
already  given  a  section  of  these  rocks  at  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter.  The  bluffs  thus  continue  westward,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  creek,  for  over  a  mile ;  but  gradually  the  strata  dip  lower,  and 
at  the  bend,  near  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  24,  the  limestone 
has  disappeared,  and  the  sandstone  No.  6  forms  the  bank  of  a 
ravine,  while  the  bluff  on  the  west  side  of  it  consists  of  the  lime- 
stone formation  No.  5,  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  4.  The  lime- 
stone is  here  hardly  more  than  fifty  or  sixty  feet  thick.  In  its 
lithological  appearance  it  cannot  be  distinguished  from  No.  7,  to 
which  it  generally  bears  close  resemblance.  The  limestone  No.  5 


POPE    COUNTY.  425 

continues  in  the  lower  part  of  the  bluffs  all  through  the  east  part 
of  section  14;  then  the  sandstone  No.  4,  which  capped  it  all  along, 
reaches  the  water  level.  I  thus  noticed  it,  especially  at  the  mouth 
of  a  small  branch  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  the  northwest 
corner  of  section  14;  also,  at  the  mouth  of  Four-mile  branch,  on 
the  south  side  of  Lusk  creek,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  15, 
and  at  the  ford  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  16.  The  next 
higher  limestone,  No.  8,  then  forms  a  bluff  at  least  80  feet  high, 
in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  11  and  the  southeast  corner  of 
section  10;  while  farther  west,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
10,  it  is  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  2,  which  is  here  quite  thin ; 
and  the  higher  hills  farther  north,  in  section  10,  contain  the  highest 
Chester  limestone,  No.  1,  capped  by  the  Conglomerate.  On  the  west 
side  of  Lusk  creek,  the  limestone  No.  3  forms  the  bluff  in  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  16,  capped  by  the  sandstone  No.  2,  and 
soon  the  hills  rise  still  higher,  and  the  limestone  No.  1  occupies 
the  summit  near  the  north  line  of  section  16.  No.  2  dips  underneath 
the  water  level  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  9.  Thence  on, 
through  the  north  part  of  section  9  and  sections  4  and  5,  the  lime- 
stone No.  1  forms  the  base  of  the  bluffs,  and  their  upper  portion 
consists  of  the  Conglomerate.  The  last  outcrop  of  the  limestone 
occurs  just  below  the  mouth  of  Baty's  branch,  not  far  from  the 
township  line.  Its  aggregate  thickness  is  probably  about  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  feet.  On  the  Golconda  and  Glendale  road,  on  the 
ridge  a  mile  west  of  Lusk  creek,  this  limestone  is  exposed  in  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  17,  township  13,  range  6,  but  near  the 
north  line  of  this  section  the  Conglomerate  forms  the  summit. 

On  the  Four-mile  branch  of  Lusk  creek,  which  is  four  miles  west 
of  Golconda,  the  sandstone  No.  4  extends  from  its  mouth,  in  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  15,  upwards  through  the  west  part  of 
section  22,  and  the  east  part  of  section  21,  into  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  28.  There  the  limestone  No.  5  rises  to  the  surface 
from  underneath  the  sandstone,  and  continues  up  the  branch  through 
the  east  part  of  section  28,  and  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
27.  It  is  last  exposed  at  the  foot  of  the  summit  breaks,  near  the 
southwest  corner  of  section  27.  The  summit  itself,  on  the  Vienna 
road,  perhaps  contains  No.  4.  The  sandstone  No.  6  caps  the  ridge 
between  the  forks  of  Mill  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
35,  and  in  the  south  part  of  section  34,  township  13,  range  6,  and 
continues  southwestward  to  the  bluffs  of  Bay  river,  while  the  lime- 
stone No.  7,  with  its  ordinary  appearance  and  fossils,  crops  out  at 
the  foot  of  this  ridge,  in  the  forks  of  Mill  creek,  in  the  southeast 


426  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

quarter  of  section  26  (?),  and  in  the  slopes  on  the  north  side  of 
the  south  fork  of  Mill  creek,  in  section  35,  and  in  the  north  part  of 
section  3,  township  14,  range  6;  the  underlying  sandstone,  No.  8, 
is  exposed  in  the  banks  of  that  branch  near  the  forks,  and  higher 
up  through  section  35,  and  ^on  the  branches  of  Bay  river,  in  the 
south  part  of  section  3. 

The  limestone   No.  7,  capped   by  the    sandstone  No.  6,  continues 
westward,  apparently  without  interruption,  and  forms  the   bluffs  on 
the  north  side  of  Bay  river,  through  sections  4  and  5,  township  14, 
range    6,    and    section   31,    township    13,    range-  6,    to    the    bridge 
and  old  mill  site  on  the    county  road,  in   the   northeast   quarter  of 
section  36,  township  13,  range  5.      A  mile  north  from   there,  near 
the    town  of    Columbus,    the    limestone    has    dipped    underground. 
The    sandstone  No.  6   is  exposed   there  in  the   bank  of   a   branch 
in  the   southwest  quarter  of  section  30,  and  in  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  section  30,  and   also    a    quarter  of    a  mile   farther  north  in 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  30,  while  the  next  higher  limestone, 
apparently  No.  5,  capped  at  many  points  by  the   sandstone  No.   4, 
occupies  the  hills  northeast  of  the  town,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  30,  and  also  the  bluffs  northwest  of  the  town,  in  the  direc- 
tion towards  Flat  Lick  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  30, 
and  in  the  northeast    corner   of   the  adjoining  section  25,  township 
13,  range  5.    Farther  north,  towards  the  head  of  Flat  Lick  creek,  I 
found  the  upper  Chester   limestone,    apparently   No.  1,    extensively 
developed  in  the  hills  on  the   east    side   of    the   creek,  in   the  west 
part  of  section  18,  and  in  the  southwest  quarter  and  centre  of  section 
7,  township  13,  range  6.    It  undoubtedly  also  forms  the  base  of  the 
hills  on  the  west  side  of  the  creek,  which  are  capped  by  prominent 
ledges  of  the  Conglomerate,  which  here  extends  much  farther  south 
than  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek.     On  Root  Lick  creek,  the  Chester 
limestone  does  not  extend  farther  north  than  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  14  and  the  southeast  quarter  of   section  15,  township  13, 
range  5,  and  near  Hill's  branch,  to  the  southwest  corner  of  section  16. 
West  of  Flat  Lick  creek,  in  the  west  half  of  section  25,  the  Bay 
river  bluffs  consist  of  about  30  feet  of   limestone,  capped  by  some 
sandstone,  perhaps  Nos.  7  and  6  of  the  Chester  series.     This  sand- 
stone then  forms  a  continuous  outcrop  'westward  into  section  26,  to 
near  Boot  Lick  creek.     On  the  west  side  of  the  latter,  in  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  27,  the  hills   consist   principally  of  a  lime- 
stone, probably  of  the  next  higher  division,  No.  5,  overlaid  with  some 
sandstone,  apparently  No.  4 ;  while  at  their  base  I  noticed  traces  of 
a  lower  sandstone  No.  6.      Thence  west  I  found  the  uppermost  of 


POPE    COUNTY.  427 

these  sandstones  prominently  exposed  through  section  28.  In  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  28,  the  limestone  underneath  it  is  again 
visible,  and  nearer  to  the  Bay,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
29,  a  lower  sandstone,  apparently  No.  6,  rises  to  the  surface.  This 
sandstone  forms  a  prominent  bluff  thence  on  along  Bay  river.  It 
rises  gradually  as  the  bluff  extends  southward  into  section  32,  and 
reaches  a  thickness  of  certainly  100  feet,  if  not  more,  while  at  some 
points  it  presents  a  bare  cliff  of  40  feet.  Finally  a  lower  Chester 
limestone,  apparently  No.  7,  makes  its  appearance  underneath  it 
and  continues,  capped  by  the  sandstone,  to  the  south  point  of  the 
bluff,  in  the  west  part  of  section  32  ( ?),  township  13,  range  5,  near 
the  Metropolis  and  Glendale  road,  where  it  is  exposed  in  a  thickness 
of  some  70  fee!.  Thence  the  bluff  turns  northward;  the  limestone 
soon  disappears,  but  the  capping  sandstone,  No.  6,  is  exposed  in  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  32,  and  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
sec  ion  29,  along  the  edge  of  the  bottom  land.  Near  the  middle  of 
the  west  half  of  section  29,  the  hills  on  the  east  side  of  Sugar  creek 
present  a  higher  division  of  the  Chester  limestone.  North  from 
there,  on  the  other  side  of  Sugar  creek,  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
section  29,  we  find  the  hills  composed  of  sandstones,  which  extend 
thence  west  to  the  Johnson  county  line,  which  they  strike  on  the 
west  side  of  section  19.  These  sandstones,  if  the  stratification  was 
undisturbed,  would  appear  to  be  No.  4 ;  but  my  examinations  in  the 
adjoining  county  make  me  consider  them,  in  part  at  least,  as  No.  6, 
and  from  the  following  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  irregularities 
here  which  I  was  not  able  entirely  to  unravel,  without  a  more 
extended  examination.  At  one  point  these  rocks  present  a  singular 
appearance,  as  of  a  dyke  tilted  up  in  the  direction  of  north  and 
south,  or  rather,  as  if  the  eastern  portion  of  the  hill  had  slipped 
down,  leaving  the  rocks  on  the  west  side  protruding.  I  suppose  we 
see  here  really  the  effects  of  a  fault,  because  a  short  distance  farther 
north  we  find  the  strata  in  the  face  of  the  bluff  strongly  tilted. 
The  course  of  the  great  disturbance  which  passes  from  northeast  to 
southwest  through  the  county,  points  in  this  direction,  and  I  suppose 
the  irregularities  here  are  connected  with  this  disturbance,  although 
I  cannot  point  out  its  exact  limits  and  connection. 

Proceeding  north  along  the  bluffs,  on  the  west  side  of  Sugar 
creek,  we  soon  find  the  sandstone  rises  at  a  high  angle  to  the  north- 
ward, on  the  west  side  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  20,  and 
one  of  the  Chester  limestones  makes  its  appearance  underneath  it. 
The  dip,  however,  changes  suddenly,  and  the  sandstone  descends 
again  with  a  moderate  angle  to  the  northward.  I  noticed  it 


428  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

various  points  lower  down,  and  it  forms  a  low  bluff  in  the  bank  of 
the  creek  below  the  Vienna  road  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
17.  On  the  east  side  of  the  creek  limestones  appear  to  form  the 
main  portion  of  the  hills  in  the  middle  of  section  20,  only  capped 
by  some  sandstone  on  the  highest  point,  and  near  the  middle  of  the 
north  line  of  section  20,  Chester  limestones  form  the  main  body  of 
the  ridge  between  Sugar  creek  and  Hill's  branch,  at  least  100  feet 
thick,  and  capped  by  only  a  few  feet  of  sandstone,  which  may,  per- 
haps, be  the  last  outlier  of  the  Conglomerate. 

Farther  up  Sugar  creek  we  next  find  sandstones  forming  low  bluffs 
at  the  lower  edge  of  the  hills  in  the  extreme  north  part  of  section 
17  and  in  the  south  part  of  section  8.  In  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  8,  a  Chester  limestone  is  exposed  in  the  hillsTde  above  these 
sandstones,  and  the  latter  soon  disappear  underneath  the  bed  of  the 
creek,  while  the  limestone  appears  to  continue,  without  interruption, 
to  the  northwest  corner  of  section  9.  In  this  vicinity  it  is  overlaid 
with  another  sandstone  formation,  which,  gradually  dipping  down  to 
the  northward,  becomes  the  lowest  formation  along  the  creek, 
through  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  4,  and  extends  into  the 
north  part  of  the  same  section.  This  sandstone  contains  a  thin 
seam  of  stone  coal,  at  least  four  inches  thick,  which  has  been  dis- 
covered in  the  bed  of  the  creek  at  an  old  mill  site  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  4,  but  was  under  water 
at  the  time  of  my  visit.  Perhaps  this  sandstone  is  No.  4,  and  the 
coal  the  continuation  of  the  seam  which  we  have  found  in  this  form- 
ation, on  the  branches  of  the  Grand  Pierre  creek.  In  the  hill  side 
above  the  old  mill,  near  the  middle  of  the  east  line  of  section  5,  I 
observed  a  higher  Chester  limestone,  capped  in  the  higher  hills  by 
another  sandstone.  The  limestone  extends,  also,  through  the  low 
hills  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  4,  and  farther  north,  and 
it  crops  out  at  various  points  along  the  creek  through  the  east  part 
of  section  33.  The  higher  sandstone  then  makes  its  appearance  in 
the  upper  portion  of  the  low  bluffs,  and  reaches,  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  34,  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  bed  of  the  creek; 
but  the  limestone  appears  to  extend  a  long  ways  farther  up  the 
creek,  which  runs  here  from  east  to  west,  although  it  is  little  exposed, 
and  the  hills  seem  to  be  formed  of  the  higher  sandstones.  This 
latter  is  No.  2  of  the  Chester  series.  It  attains  a  very  considerable 
thickness,  and  thus  differs  from  the  description  given  of  its  scanty 
development  farther  east.  It  occupies  the  ridge  between  Sugar 
creek  and  Haze's  creek,  south  of  Glendale,  and  also  dips  gently  to 
the  northward. 


POPE    COUNTY.  429 

Bay  river  heads  in  the  Conglomerate,  but  the  highest  Chester 
limestone  makes  its  appearance  underneath  the  sandstone  near  the 
mouth  of  Little  Bay  creek,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  8, 
township  12,  range  5,  and  extends  thence  down  Bay  river,  gradually 
rising.  Near  the  south  line  of  section  18  it  has  attained  an  altitude 
of  at  least  100  feet,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  and  is  still  capped 
by  sandstone,  which  extends  into  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  19 
and  forms  the  summit  of  the  ridge  thence  eastward,  while  the  limestone 
underlies  the  slopes  on  the  south  side  of  the  summit,  towards  Haze's 
creek,  in  sections  19,  20,  21  and  22.  Most  of  this  limestone  is  hard 
and  siliceous,  and  the  intercalated  clay  shales  form,  at  some  points, 
barren  spots  or  scalds.  Near  the  Bay  bridge,  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  19,  the  lower  sandstone  No.  2  has  reached  the 
surface,  and  extends  thence  down  that  stream  to  beyond  the  John- 
son county  line,  and  eastward  up  Haze's  creek,  which  is  a  main 
branch  of  the  Bay,  through  sections  30,  29,  28,  21,  and  over  the 
ridge  south  of  Haze's  creek,  as  I  have  stated  before.  At  Glendale, 
which  is  situated  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  21,  township 
12,  range  5,  this  sandstone  No.  2  forms  the  banks  of  the  creek, 
while  the  limestone  No.  1  is  exposed  only  a  few  feet  higher  up. 
On  the  north  prong  of  Haze's  creek  this  limestone  appears  to  dip 
under  ground  near  the  north  line  of  section  14.  On  a  small  branch 
I  saw  its  highest  ledges  capped  by  the  Conglomerate  in  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  15,  and  near  the  east  prong  I  observed  it  on 
the  slope  underneath  the  Conglomerate,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  14  and  in  the  south  part  of  section  13,  and  at  some  springs  near 
the  southeast  corner  of  section  13  and  at  some  springs  near  the  southeast 
corner  of  section  13  and  northeast  corner  of  section  24.  Half  a  mile  west 
from  there,  down  the  branch,  we  come  to  some  sandstones  which  are 
intercalated  between  the  Chester  limestones.  Some  of  the  sandstone 
forms  hard,  thin,  irregular  layers,  and  part  of  it  forma  a  quartzite  or  solid 
bed  of  quartz-rock,  evidently  in  consequence  of  a  local  metamorphosis. 
It  may  be  best  seen  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  24,  where 
the  creek  falls  over  the  lowest  ledge  of  it  to  the  underlying  lime- 
stone. The  aggregate  thickness  of  this  intercalation  can  hardly 
exceed  ten  feet.  I  found  the  quartzite  again  at  many  points  in  the 
hills  farther  southwest,  on  the  west  side  of  section  24  and  in  the  east  part 
of  section  23,  on  top  of  the  lower  Chester  limestone,  and  also  on  the 
county  road  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  24,  and  at  other  points. 

These  few  layers  bear  little  resemblance  to  the  heavy  body  of 
sandstones  which  have  been  described  as  No.  2  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  creek,  but  their  thickness  corresponds  nearer  with  that  of  the 


430  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

No.  2  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  county.  A  more  detailed  examina- 
tion would  be  required,  however,  to  enable  us  to  trace  all  the  minu- 
tiae of  the  changes  which  the  formation  undergoes,  and  which  are 
of  no  practical  importance. 

Near  the  mouth  of  a  small  branch  of  Haze's  "creek,  in  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  23,  I  observed  a  lower  sandstone,  apparently 
the  same  as  that  near  Glendale,  in  the  bed  of  the  stream.  The  hills 
consist,  however,  of  Chester  limestones  and  shales,  which  are  capped 
by  a  few  feet  of  sandstone,  which  is  partly  cherty,  and  evidently 
forms  the  continuation  of  the  bed  of  quartzite.  The  limestone  is 
here  rich  in  fossils,  especially  Retzia  vera  and  Athyris  ambigua. 

Continuing  northeast   along  the  edge   of  the  high  ridge,  we  soon 
come  to  the  waters  of  Lusk  creek.     Near  the  Golconda  and  Marion 
road  the  Conglomerate  caps  the  high  point  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section   8,  township    12,  range   6;    but  thence   the  ridge   falls  off 
rapidly  towards  the   south,  and  the  lower  hills  are   formed   by  the 
upper  Chester  limestone,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  8,  and 
in  the  north  part   of  sections   18,  17,  etc.    I  observed  these  lime- 
stones also  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section  19,  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  section  20,  and  near  the  branch  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  17,  where  I  obtained  from  them  a  variety  of  Chester  fossils, 
Archimedes,   Pentremites,   Productus  pileiformis,  various  Spirifers,  etc. 
Near  the  forks  of  that   branch,  in  the   northeast  quarter  of  section 
20,  some  layers  of  sandstone   rise  from  underneath   this  limestone, 
and  form  a  conspicuous  little  bluff;   but  only  a  few  rods  farther  on 
other  thin  layers  of   Chester   limestone    rise  out  of   the    bed  of   the 
creek,    underneath    this    sandstone,   which    can    only    have  a    very 
limited   thickness,   and  is  apparently  No.   2   of   the  Chester   series. 
It  rises  rapidly  as  we   continue   down  the   branch,  and   soon   forms 
the  summit  of  the  bluff  hills  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  20. 
The  slopes    are  there    covered  with   masses  of   tumbling   sand-rock, 
but  at  various  places   traces  of  the  limestone  are  recognized  in  the 
hillside.     Near   the   east  line  of   section   20  the  sandstone  seems  to 
pitch  down  again  towards  the  east,  and  we  soon  reach  Lusk  .creek 
and  the  Conglomerate,  having  passed  the  line  of   the  fault.    Along 
this  portion  of  Lusk  creek,  for  several  miles  up  and  down,  the  Con- 
glomerate extends   in  the   bank   and  in  the   hills  east  of  the  creek, 
with  the  same  regularity  as  the  Chester  sandstone  No.  8,  on  Grand 
Pierre,  and   the    diagonal   fault  rseems   to  coincide    nearly  with   the 
course  of  the  stream.     On  its  northwest  side  we  generally  find,  there- 
fore, the  upper  members  of  the  Chester  series.     Thus  the  bluffs  half 
a  mile   below  the   branch,  on  the  west   side  of  Lusk   creek,  in   the 


POPE   COUNTY.  431 

south  part  of  section  20,  present  outcrops  of  a  Chester  limestone, 
capped  by  some  sandstone,  apparently  Nos.  3  and  2.  Lower  down, 
the  bluffs  on  the  west  side  of  the  creek  continue  high,  and  are 
apparently  formed  of  the  same  strata  to  the  south  line  of  section 
30 ;  then,  near  the  northeast  corner  of  section  31,  we  come  to  a 
small  branch  with  the  Conglomerate  in  its  bank,  and  the  creek  there 
enters  this  formation,  while  the  Chester  strata  evidently  continue 
westward  over  the  hills. 

In  the  northwest  quarter  of ,  section  21,  and  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  16,  township  12,  range  6,  I  observed  only  sand- 
stones along  the  banks  of  Lusk  creek,  but  in  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  16  some  ledges  of  sandstone  rise  abruptly  to  the  northwest, 
and  presently  we  find  underneath  them  an  outcrop  of  Chester  lime- 
stone. This  is  a  little  below  the  crossing  of  the  Marion  road,  and 
on  both  sides  of  that  road,  west  of  the  creek,  we  find  heavy  exposures 
of  this  limestone,  which  is  very  hard,  of  gray  color,  crystalline,  or 
close  textured,  and  full  of  chert.  I  obtained  from  it  various  Chester 
fossils,  especially  Archimedes,  Productus  pileiformis,  P.  elegans,  Spirifer 
lineatus,  Spiriferina  octoplicata,  and  others.  A  few  rods  farther  north 
some  old  lead  diggings  are  in  this  same  formation,  while  a  short 
distance  farther  west  and  northwest,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  the 
southeast  quarter,  and  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  16,  we  find  a  lower  sandstone  rising  from  underneath  this 
limestone,  with  a  slight  dip  to  the  south  or  southeast,  conformable 
to  the  limestone  itself.  This  dip  is  undoubtedly  soon  reversed  and 
only  caused  by  the  proximity  of  the  greater  disturbance.  In  the 
limestone  and  shales  which  overlie  this  sandstone  in  the  rear  of  the 
diggings,  in  the  very  same  hill  in  which  they  are  located,  I  observed 
Chester  fossils.  This  limestone  is  evidently  one  of  the  highest  of 
the  Chester  series,  probably  No.  1,  or  perhaps  No.  3. 

The  lead  diggings  are  a  few  rods  north  of  the  Marion  road,  in  the 
face  of  the  bluffs  of  Lusk  creek,  in  the  southeast  and  northeast  quar- 
ters of  section  16,  township  12,  range  6.  The  bluff  is  mostly  covered 
with  soil  and  detritus,  but  we  see,  at  various  heights,  outcropping 
masses  of  limestone,  which  is  partly  compact,  gray  and  sub-crystal- 
line, but  much  of  which  is  highly  crystalline,  with  large  crystalline 
masses  of  calcareous  spar,  and  has  disseminated  through  it  white, 
bluish,  or  violet  fluor  spar,  galena,  zinc  blende,  and  traces  of  copper. 
It  is  evidently  the  Chester  limestone  in  a  state  of  partial  metamorphism, 
and  is  undoubtedly  interstratified  with  shales,  the  same  as  everywhere 
else.  A  shallow  excavation  on  the  side  of  the  hill  reveals  a  heavy 
deposit  of  a  white  clay,  which  has  been  claimed  to  be  kaolin,  and 


432  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

of  which  some  fine  queensware  is  said  to  have  been  made.  It  is 
exposed  to  a  thickness  of  about  15  feet,  but  not  sufficiently  to  deter- 
mine whether  it  forms  an  intercalation  in  the  limestone,  and  is  then 
an  altered  shale,  or  whether  it  is  an  irregular  deposit  on  the  side  of 
the  hill,  formed  in  connection  with  the  mineralization  of  the  lime- 
stone. Just  above  the  diggings  the  limestone  reaches  to  the  top  of 
the  hill,  but  a  higher  point  of  the  sharp  summit,  a  few  rods  farther 
northeast,  is  capped  by  some  feet  of  sandstone,  which  is  also  con- 
siderably altered,  and  has  become  hard  and  cherty.  A  few  rods  east 
of  the  diggings,  that  is,  in  the  direction  of  the  creek,  the  hillside  is 
covered  with  sandstone,  a  large  portion  of  which  appears  to  be  in 
place,  and  which  reaches  to  the  summit  rising  northwestward.  It  is 
evidently  the  same  sandstone  which  we  found  a  short  distance  below 
the  mines  in  the  bluffs  rising  abruptly  with  and  above  the  limestone 
from  the  bed  of  the  creek,  and  it  seems  to  me  as  if  the  exposure  of 
the  limestone,  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  in  the  face  of  the  bluff, 
were  merely  due  to  the  circumstance  that  the  bluff  there  recedes 
towards  the  northwest,  while  the  strata  trend  northeastward.  The 
overlying  sandstone  is  thus  removed  from  the  face  of  the  bluff  by 
denudation,  and  the  underlying  limestone  is  exposed  to  view.  The 
limestone  on  the  west  side  of  the  hill  is  not  much  altered,  and  the 
mineralization  seems  to  be  confined  to  the  east  side  of  the  hill.  On 
the  east  side  of  the  creek  the  Conglomerate  sandstones  dip  a  few 
degrees  to  the  northeast,  in  a  direction  directly  opposite  to  the  dip 
of  the  rocks  on  the  west  side.  A  simple  explanation  of  these  irregu- 
larities is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  above-mentioned  fault 
passes  through  here  in  the  direction  from  northeast  to  southwest. 
The  rocks  on  the  east  side  of  the  break  have  settled  down  several 
hundred  feet,  and  the  Conglomerate,  a  higher  formation,  has  thus 
been  carried  down  to  a  level  with  the  Chester  limestone  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  creek.  The  rocks  on  the  west  side  of  the  break  have 
also  yielded  near  the  point  of  fracture,  while  a  little  farther  distant 
to  the  westward,  they  dip  slightly  towards  the  northwest,  and  seem 
to  have  been  forced  down  some  distance  near  the  point  of  fracture, 
so  that  we  there  find  them  strongly  dipping  towards  the  break,  or 
southeast.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  the  whole  disturbance  has 
been  the  result  of  a  subsidence  without  any  upheaving  action; 
because  no  subsidence  can  take  place  without  a  corresponding  eleva- 
tion at  a  near  or  distant  point ;  but  it  makes  little  difference  in  the 
result  whether  we  assume  that  the  rocks  on  the  east  side  have  sub- 
sided, or  those  on  the  west  side  have  been  upheaved.  One  thing  is 
certain,  viz :  that  the  strata  have  had  their  continuation  broken, 


POPE    COUNTY.  433 

have  been  fractured,  and  that  extensive  fissures  must  have  been 
formed,  which  have  been  a  cause  of  the  mineralization  of  the  lime- 
stone at  the  diggings. 

Continuing  northward  up  the  creek  on  its  west  side,  we  find  the 
bluff,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  formed  of,  and  strewn  with,  sand- 
stone belonging,  apparently,  to  the  Conglomerate.  The  limestone  is 
little  exposed,  but  evidently  forms  the  west  side  of  the  bluff  ridge. 
On  the  branch  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  10,  township  12, 
range  6,  I  again  observed  the  lower  sandstone  of  the  Chester  series, 
and  it  appears  to  extend  up  that  branch  at  least  to  near  the  centre 
of  section  9,  while  the  hills  on  both  sides  consist  of  the  uppermost 
Chester  limestone.  North  of  the  branch,  in  the  middle  of  section  10, 
the  main  bluff  is  still  formed  of  the  Conglomerate,  but  the  Chester 
limestone  reaches  high  up  in  the  west  side  of  the  bluff  hills,  off  the 
creek,  and  is  somewhat  veined  with  calcareous  spar.  The  sandstone 
there  is  also  somewhat  altered,  hard,  cherty,  and  contains  a  little 
fluor  spar.  The  stratification  is  evidently  strongly  disturbed.  At 
this  point,  also,  some  holes  were  dug  after  galena,  but  with  very 
unsatisfactory  result,  as  little  or  none  was  found. 

I  noticed  another  outcrop  of  highly  tilted  ledges  of  sandstone  on 
top  of  the  bluff  ridge,  in  the  north  part  of  section  10.  In  the  north- 
west quarter  of  this  section,  high  cliffs  of  undisturbed  Conglomerate 
extend  on  both  sides  of  the  creek;  but  turning  west  along  Lusk 
creek,  in  the  .  southeast  quarter  of  section  3,  we  soon  come  to  a 
ravine  on  the  south  side,  on  which  we  again  noticed  tilted  ledges  of 
sandstone,  while  farther  west  the  bluff  consists  of  Chester  lime- 
stones. Here,  then,  we  have  another  point  on  the  great  fault. 
Farther  on  west,  in  the  south  part  of  section  3,  the  bluff  is  not  very 
high,  and  mainly  composed  of  limestone,  with  a  little  sandstone  on 
top.  It  rises  gradually,  thus  indicating  a  dip  to  the  southeast.  Near 
the  middle  of  the  south  half  of  section  3,  I  observed  some  sandstone 
in  place  in  the  bed  of  the  creek  at  the  foot  of  the  limestone  bluff,  evi- 
dently a  Chester  sandstone.  Eound  the  bend,  near  the  old  Gilbert 
place,  near  the  middle  of  the  east  line  of  section  4,  some  Chester  sand- 
stone is  in  place  in  the  bed  and  bank  of  a  branch,  while  the  hills  are 
formed  of  limestone,  with  an  intercalation  of  several  feet  of  sandstone, 
so  that  here  Nos.  1,  2,  3  and  4  seem  to  be  represented.  Near  the 
northwest  corner  of  section  3,  the  Chester  limestones  are  still  exposed 
along  Lusk  creek,  but  then  a  heavy  bluff  of  the  Conglomerate  sand- 
stone sets  in  above  them,  and  the  strata  exhibits  a  strong  dip  to 
the  northwest,  which  carries  the  Chester  formation  underground  in 
—28 


434  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

a  short  distance,  so  that  the  towering  bluffs  near  the  bend  of  the 
creek,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  84,  township  11,  range  6, 
consist  of  the  Conglomerate  to  their  base. 

On  the  north  side  of  Lusk  creek,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 3,  the  hills  also  consist  of  Chester  limestones  and  shales,  just 
above  the  mouth  of  Little  creek,  while  next  to  that  creek  the  rocks 
belong  to  the  Conglomerate.  The  fault  passes  through  just  west  of 
Little  creek.  In  its  vicinity,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  3, 
the  limestone  is  again  veined  with  calcareous  spar,  and  on  a  ravine 
of  Lusk  creek,  in  this  vicinity,  a  short  distance  back  of  the  creek, 
several  holes  have  been  dug  in  search  of  galena.  I  noticed  in  their 
vicinity,  besides  the  limestone,  black  and  gray  shales  and  slates  and 
masses  of  strongly  altered  silicified  sandstone,  all,  especially  the 
slates,  interspersed  with  fluor  spar.  Besides  the  fluor  spar,  which 
forms  no  regular  vein,  nor  even  well  denned  pockets,  I  also  observed 
some  calcareous  spar,  but  no  galena.  It  is  said,  however,  that  some 
galena  has  been  found  there. 

Little  creek  follows  the  same  general  direction  as  Lusk  creek 
below  its  mouth,  which  coincides  very  near  with  the  course  of  the 
diagonal  disturbance,  as  we  have  seen.  Little  creek,  nearly  all 
along,  meanders  between  cliffs  of  Conglomerate,  but  the  upper  Chester 
limestones  on  the  west  side  of  the  fault  underlie  the  hills  a  short 
distance  west  of  the  creek.  Thus  most  of  section  3  and  the  north- 
west corner  of  section  2,  township  12,  range  6,  are  mainly  under- 
laid with  the  Chester  limestone,  and  also  the  east  half  of  section 
34,  the  west  half  and  part  of  the  east  half  of  section  35.  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  26  and  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  27, 
township  11,  range  6,  etc.  Near  the  creek  the  Chester  limestone 
is  again  exposed  in  a  bluff  on  the  west  side,  near  a  sharp  bend  of 
the  creek,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  35.  The  forks  of  the 
creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  36,  are  in  the  Conglom- 
erate ;  but  turning  up  the  main  or  north  fork,  we  at  once  find 
the  sandstone  dipping  strongly  to  the  southeast  for  some  distance, 
and  soon  the  limestone  makes  its  appearance  underneath  it.  Farther 
up  that  branch  we  again  notice  outcrops  of  the  limestone  in  the 
vicinity  of  Mr.  John  A.  Wasson's  place,  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
hills  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  25,  while  the  ridge  towards 
the  southeast  consists  of  Conglomerate.  The  limestone  near  a  chaly- 
beate spring  at  this  point  is  veined  with  calcareous  spar,  but  no 
signs  of  any  other  mineral  were  observed.  Close  by,  on  the  main 
creek,  near  the  county  road,  the  Chester  limestone  is  also  exposed, 
and  dips  with  a  strong  angle  towards  the  southwest.  It  is  over- 


POPE    COUNTY.  435 

laid  with  Conglomerate  sandstone,  which  dips  in  the  same  direction, 
trending  from  southeast  to  northwest,  and  very  soon  form  the  bank 
of  the  creek.  This  trend  does  not  correspond  with  the  general 
course  of  the  disturbance  which  we  have  followed  thus  far,  and 
may  be  due  for  more  local  causes;  still  this  outcrop  of  the  lime- 
stone is  in  the  continuation  of  the  great  fault.  From  this  point  it 
is  only  a  mile  and  a  half  farther  northeast  to  the  outcrops  of  lime- 
stone, on  a  branch  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  20,  township  11,  range  7.  The  lower  hills  on  the  east 
side  of  section  24  are  also  probably  underlaid  with  the  limestone, 
but  the  formations  farther  up  Little  creek  are  somewhat  obscure. 
Sandstones  are  evidently  in  the  higher  hills,  but  a  spring  in  the 
bank,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  13,  has  altogether  the 
appearance  of  a  limestone  spring.  In  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  13,  many  years  ago,  somebody  dug  on  a  low  ridge  for  min- 
eral, and  excavated  a  hole  apparently  in  loose  masses  of  sandstone. 
Some  of  this  sandstone  contains  small  veins  of  calcareous  spar  and 
is  somewhat  altered.  The  strata  in  this  vicinity  seems  to  be 
strongly  tilted,  but  are  little  exposed. 

Conglomerate. 

This  formation,  in  Pope  county,  does  not  differ  essentially  from 
the  Conglomerate  of  the  adjoining  county  of  Johnson.  Some  of  its 
sandstone  strata  are  rendered  conglomeratic  by  an  abundant  admix- 
ture of  small  quartz  pebbles,  but  this  is  not  a  peculiarity  entirely 
confined  to  it,  but  is  also  met  with  occasionally,  although  seldom, 
in  the  Chester  sandstone.  The  principal  difference  in  the  develop- 
ment of  this  sandstone,  in  this  county,  consists  in  the  presence  of 
a  small  seam  of  coal  in  the  very  lowest  stratum  of  the  formation, 
which  was  not  seen  in  Johnson  county,  where  the  lowest  coal  seam 
in  this  sandstone  generally  occurs  much  higher  up  in  the  forma- 
tion. The  continuation  of  this  higher  seam  has  also  been  discovered 
in  Pope  county.  We  need,  however,  not  be  surprised  at  meeting 
with  coal  near  the  base  of  this  sandstone,  because  we  have  found 
thin  seams  of  it  extending  far  through  the  Chester  formation,  at  a 
much  lower  geological  level;  and  the  Battery-rock  coal,  in  Hardin 
county,  on  the  Ohio,  which  forms  the  continuation  of  one  of  the 
Kentucky  coal  beds,  probably  the  Cook  coal,  is  also  in  the  lowest 
portion  of  the  formation  which  we  designate  as  Conglomerate,  but 
which  embraces  the  lower  Coal  Measures  of  Western  Kentucky. 


436  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

In  the  foregoing  pages,  in  describing  the  Chester  formation,  I 
have  incidentally  traced  already  the  outlines  of  this  formation.  We 
have  seen  that  in,  consequence  of  the  great  diagonal  fault,  we  find 
two  separate  bodies  of  it — the  one  occupying  the  northwestern  and 
northern  part  of  the  county,  and  the  other  on  the  southeast  side  of  the 
fault  extending  in  a  band,  generally  from  two  to  three  miles  wide, 
east  of  Little  creek,  the  middle  course  of  Lusk  creek,  and  farther 
southwest. 

This  latter  portion  of  the  formation  occupies  the  summit  and 
northwestern  slope  of  the  dividing  ridge  between  Grand  Pierre  creek, 
below  its  upper  forks,  the  lower  course  of  Lusk  creek,  and  the  lower 
course  of  Bay  river,  on  one  side,  and  Little  creek,  the  middle  course 
of  Lusk  creek  below  the  mouth  of  the  latter,  and  the  upper  Sugar 
creek,  on  the  other  side.  It  begins  in  section  16,  township  11,  range 
7,  and  is  very  conspicuous  thence  southwestward  in  the  abrupt  de- 
clivity of  the  southwestern  edge  of  the  summit  of  this  dividing  ridge. 
At  the  head  of  the  west  branch  of  Grand  Pierre,  it  reaches  far  down 
from  the  summit  to  the  junction  of  the  upper  forks,  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  12,  township  12,  range  6;  and  in  some  places 
there  its  dip  towards  the  northwest  is  plainly  visible.  Farther  south 
again,  in  the  north  part  of  section  25,  where  the  ridge  falls  off  very 
abruptly,  it  forms  merely  the  highest  summit  ledges ;  so,  also,  at 
the  extreme  southern  point  of  the  ridge,  on  the  east  side  of  Lusk 
creek,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  sectidn  10,  township  13,  range  6, 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  Lusk  creek  south  of  the  centre  of  sec- 
tion 9,  and  on  the  county  road,  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
17.  Dipping  northwestward,  this  formation  descends  to  the  water 
level  of  Lusk  creek,  near  the  south  line  of  section  32,  township  12, 
range  6,  just  below  the  mouth  of  Baty's  branch,  and  extends  in 
both  banks  of  the  creek  for  about  a  mile,  forming  bold  cliffs  and 
picturesque  wild  scenery,  hemming  the  creek  within  a  narrow  gorge. 
Baty's  branch  itself  runs  from  head  to  mouth  entirely  through  these 
strata,  through  a  roughly  broken  district,  full  of  rocky  cliffs.  Farther 
southwest  it  crosses  Flat  Lick  creek,  near  its  head,  on  section  7, 
township  13,  range  6,  forming  prominent  cliffs,  with  some  conglomeratic 
ledges  in  the  bluffs  on  the  west  side  of  that  creek,  reaching  southward 
into  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  24  and  the  north  part  of  sec- 
tion 23,  township  13,  range  5.  Then  it  passes  in  bold  cliffs  around 
the  head  of  Eoot  Lick  creek,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  14, 
and  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  15,  and  caps  a  high  summit  in 
the  north  part  of  section  21.  Hill's  branch  rushes  through  a  gorge 
in  the  lowest  layers  of  the  Conglomerate,  in  the  southwest  quarter 


POPE    COUNTY.  437 

of  section  16,  a  short  distance  north  of  the  Golconda  and  Vienna 
road,  below  the  Dixon  springs,  and  I  noticed  the  same  formation 
again  in  section  17 ;  but  I  am  at  a  loss  to  locate  its  southwestern 
extremity.  I  am  not  certain  whether  it  passes  west  of  Sugar  creek ; 
probably  it  does  not. 

The  limits  of  this  body  of  Conglomerate,  on  its  north  and  west 
sides,  are  by  no  means  so  prominently  marked,  on  account  of  the  dip 
being  towards  the  northwest ;  still  they  can,  in  many  places,  be  traced 
very  readily.  Near  the  Golconda  and  Independence  road  it  ends  in 
the  ridge  east  of  the  main  fork  of  Little  creek,  near  the  southeast 
corner  of  section  24,  township  11,  range  6.  The  more  eastern  fork 
passes  entirely  through  this  formation,  which,  near  the  mouth  of 
this  fork,  extend  a  short  distance  up  the  main  creek  to  near  the 
southwest  corner  of  section  25,  and  then  down  Little  creek  to  its 
mouth  and  a  short  distance  west  of  it,  with  the  exception  of  a  single 
point  near  a  western  bend  in  the  south  part  of  section  35.  On  Lusk 
creek  it  begins  above  the  mouth  of  Little  creek,  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  3,  township  12,  range  6;  extends  then  southward 
a  short  distance  west  of  the  creek  to  the  vicinity  of  the  old  lead 
diggings,  on  the  east  side  of  section  16 ;  thence  down  it  occupies 
the  east  bank  of  the  creek,  reaching  across  it  only  at  a  few  points, 
to  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  32,  when  the  creek,  changing 
its  course,  breaks  through  this  formation.  Farther  on,  the  north- 
western boundary  of  the  Conglomerate  passes  over  the  uplands,  and 
can  not  be  traced  so  readily. 

In  this  portion  of  the  formation  coal  has  been  discovered  at  a  few 
points  only,  but  enough  to  show  its  wide  distribution.  A  short  dis- 
tance east  of  the  county  road  from  Golconda  to  Glendale,  in  the 
breaks  of  the  ridge,  towards  Lusk  creek,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  8,  township  13,  range  6,  some  traces  of  coal  have  been  dis- 
covered. The  ridge  is  capped  by  the  lower  ledges  of  the  sandstone, 
while  the  lower  portion  of  the  bluffs  consists  of  Chester  strata.  The 
coal  seam  is  evidently  in  the  very  lowest  portion  of  the  »Conglom- 
erate.  It  was  not  well  exposed,  but  seems  to  be  very  impure  and 
only  a  few  inches  thick.  The  owner  had  once  dug  a  few  feet  into 
the  bank,  but  did  not  find  it  better.  It  is  capped  by  shaly  arena- 
ceous strata.  On  the  west  side  of  Lusk  creek,  opposite  the  mouth 
of  Baty's  branch,  some  more  coal  is  exposed  on  the  southwest  quar- 
ter of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  32,  township  12,  range  6,  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  bluff.  The  rocks  here  are  also  the  lowest 
strata  of  the  Conglomerate.  They  dip  at  a  considerable  angle.  The 
coal  lies  directly  between  heavy  beds  of  sandstone,  and  is,  for  sev- 


438  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

eral  yards,  '22  inches  thick,  of  good  quality,  contains  little  ashes  and 
sulphur,  and  has  been  mined,  in  a  small  way,  by  stripping,  for  the 
use  of  the  blacksmiths  of  the  neighborhood.  It  is  bituminous,  like 
all  the  other  coals  of  this  district.  The  seam  is,  however,  subject 
to  great  changes.  Only  a  few  feet  distant  the  coal  is  mostly  replaced 
by  a  shaly  slate,  of  dark  color,  of  which  there  was  no  trace  at  the 
other  point,  and  above  the  slate  I  observed  about  a  foot  of  sand- 
stone and  then  two  inches  more  of  coal.  The  sandstones  above  and 
below  the  coal  are  so  heavy  that  even  stripping  becomes  laborious 
and  can  be  carried  on  only  to  a  limited  extent.  Other  points  should 
be  tried,  but  it  is  impossible  to  foretell  what  the  quality  and  thick- 
ness of  the  coal  might  be  there.  This  is  probably  the  same  coal 
seam  which  has  been  described  before;  the  difference  of  altitude 
being  due  to  the  dip  of  the  formation. 

Some  miles  farther  northeast  another  coal  digging  has  been 
opened,  known  as  Widow  Anderson's,  near  the  middle  of  the  west 
half  of  section  14,  township  12,  range  6.  It  is  on  a  branch  of  Lusk 
creek,  in  the  middle  of  the  Conglomerate  district.  The  coal  is  there 
capped  by  some  feet  of  rather  thinly  and  unevenly  stratified  sand- 
stones, intercalated  with  shaly  layers,  which  have  to  be  removed  in 
order  to  get  the  coal.  The  coal  was  not  well  exposed  at  the  time 
of  my  visit,  the  holes  being  filled  with  water ;  but  it  seemed  to  be 
hardly  more  than  18  inches  thick.  It  is  reported,  however,  to  have 
been  found  thicker;  and  here,  too,  it  may  vary.  This  coal  is  not 
quite  as  pure  #s  that  opposite  Baty's  branch,  still  it  can  be  made 
use  of  in  smith  fires,  and  is  far  more  easily  accessible  than  that  in 
the  other  digging.  Possibly  this  may  be  the  same  seam.  The  char- 
acter of  the  rocks  is  so  exceedingly  variable  that  their  different 
appearance  does  not  prove  anything.  At  any  rate,  this  stratum  of 
coal,  although,  perhaps,  changed  in  thickness  and  quality,  might  be 
easily  discovered  at  other  points  in  this  vicinity,  by  taking  into 
account  the  northeastern  trend  and  northwestern  dip  of  the  forma- 
tion. It  may  become  of  considerable  importance  to  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

About  three  miles  farther  northeast,  in  the  southeast  corner  of 
section  36,  township  11,  range  6,  a  thin  streak  of  coal  has  been 
struck  in  a  well,  on  a  high  ridge.  It  was  one  inch  thick  on  one 
side  of  the  well,  and  thicker  on  the  other.  A  mile  and  a  half  farther 
west,  in  a  ravine,  a  short  distance  west  of  Little  creek,  near  the 
township  line,  east  of  the  middle  line  of  section  35,  some  coal  and 
slates  are  also  reported  to  have  been  noticed.  The  coal  seemed  to 
be  quite  thin.  I  did  not  see  this  exposure.  It  must  also  be  in  the 


POPE    COUNTY.  439 

lowest  layers  of  the  Conglomerate,  in  close  proximity  to  the  fault. 
The  traces  of  coal  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  16,  township  11, 
range  7,  near  a  branch  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  appear  also  to  come 
from  the  lowest  part  of  the  Conglomerate. 

The  other  body  of  this  formation,  which  occupies  the  northwestern 
and  northern  portion  of  the  county,  extending  west  into  Johnson 
and  north  into  Saline  counties,  presents  also  a  well  denned  south- 
eastern border,  generally  capping,  at  its  extremity,  a  high  ridge  with 
a  steep  southeastern  declivity.  At  the  Johnson  county  line  it  begins 
north  of  Bay  river,  in  section  18,  township  12,  range  5.  It  crosses 
that  river  near  the  mouth  of  Little  Bay  creek,  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  8,  then  caps  a  narrow  spur  of  the  ridge,  on  the 
east  side  of  Bay  river,  extending  as  far  as  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  19.  Then  it  turns  east,  forms  the  summit  of  the  ridge  north' 
of  Glendale  and  Haze's  creek,  in  the  south  part  of  sections  16  and 
15,  crosses  Haze's  creek  near  the  north  line  of  section  14,  and  caps 
the  ridge  farther  east  and  northeast,  passing  through  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  14,  south  part  of  section  13,  etc.  On  the  Gol- 
conda  and  Marion  road  it  begins  in  the  high  hills,  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  8,  township  12,  range  6,  and  it  forms  the  banks 
of  Lusk  creek,  from  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  34,  township 
11,  range  6,  upwards.  Then  its  border  turns  northward,  through 
section  34  and  into  section  27,  and  thence  eastward  through  the 
north  part  of  section  26,  striking  Little  creek  below  the  Independ- 
ence road,  in  the  north  part  of  section  25,  township  11,  range  6. 
There,  it  seems  to  make  a  turn  towards  the  north,  but  we  find  it 
again  in  the  ridge  near  a  branch  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  section  19,  township  11,  range  7,  and  in  the 
west  part  of  section  17.  It  crosses  another  branch  of  the  creek 
near  the  middle  of  the  south  line  of  section  8,  and  extends  eastward 
through  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  8,  and  the  west  part  of 
section  9,  crosses  the  main  creek  near  the  south  line  of  section  4, 
and  finally  forms  the  high  summit  on  the  dividing  ridge,  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  county,  in  section  3,  between  the  headwaters 
of  Grand  Pierre  and  Eagle  creeks. 

It  covers  the  whole  county  north  of  this  line,  with  the  exception 
only  of  the  small  outcrops  of  the  Chester  formation,  in  section  5 
and  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  4,  township  11,  range  7,  near 
the  head  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  on  the  course  of  the  diagonal  fault. 
This  whole  area  is  roughly  broken,  and  similar  in  all  respects  to 
the  corresponding  portion  of  Johnson  county.  The  numerous  creeks 
and  branches  have  generally  no  bottom  lands  on  their  banks,  and 


440  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  hillsides  present  bold  cliffs  and  a  rugged,  often  picturesque, 
scenery.  The  arable  lands  are  confined  to  the  ridges,  which  are 
mostly  narrow. 

The  coal  seam  at  the  base  of  the  Conglomerate  was  found  in  the 
west,  as  well  as  in  the  east,  part  of  the  county.  It  is  exposed  in 
the  breaks  of  a  small  branch  of  Haze's  creek,  in  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  15,  township  11,  range  5,  where  it  contains  hardly 
more  than  two  inches  of  pure  coal,  although  its  thickness  is,  at  one 
point  of  the  outcrop,  increased  to  six  inches  by  the  intermixture  of 
shales.  It  is  intercalated  in  the  very  lowest  beds  of  the  sandstone, 
which  is  here  partly  somewhat  conglomeratic,  or,  rather,  contains 
numerous  coarse,  rounded  grains  of  quartz ;  and  a  little  lower  down 
in  the  ravine  the  underlying  Chester  limestone  crops  out.  Again, 
this  coal  is  exposed  in  the  bank  of  Little  creek,  a  short  distance 
below  the  crossing  of  the  Golconda  and  Independence  road,  in  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  24,  township  11,  range  6.  It  is  said  to 
be  eight  or  ten  incher  thick,  but  perhaps  not  all  of  this  is  good  coal. 
The  sandstones  are  here  intercalated  with  some  shales,  and  dip  at  a 
high  angle  towards  the  southwest.  A  short  distance  farther  up  the 
creek  the  underlying  Chester  limestone  rises  from  underneath  the 
Conglomerate  with  a  corresponding  dip. 

Some  coal  has  been  discovered  in  the  hills  within  half  a  mile  of 
this  place,  in  the  direction  of  the  general  trend  of  the  strata,  that 
is,  towards  the  southwest,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  25. 
It  has  never  been  opened,  and  is  probably  the  same  seam. 

Farther  west,  in  the  hills  on  the  west  side  of  Little  creek,  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  section  23,  a  coal  seam  eight  or  ten  inches  thick 
is  said  to  crop  out  in  a  formation  of  sandstones  and  slates.  I  am 
told  that,  occasionally,  some  coal  has  been  got  out  there  by  black- 
smiths, and  also  from  another  ravine,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther 
south. 

I  am  not  satisfied  whether  these  coal  seams  are  not  considerably 
higher  in  the  formation  than  the  first  one,  although  they  undoubt- 
edly belong  to  its  lower  portion.  The  same  may  be  said  of  an  out- 
crop of  coal  which  I  examined  a  mile  farther  north,  also  on  a  branch 
of  Little  creek,  in  the  extreme  southeast  part  of  section  14.  I  found 
there  shaly  sandstones,  underlaid  with  two  or  three  feet  of  bluish- 
gray  slates,  and  then  coal,  much  mixed  with  slate.  Both  together 
are  eighteen  inches  thick,  where  I  measured  them ;  but  only  the 
upper  eight  or  ten  inches  appeared  to  be  sufficiently  pure  to  be 
burned.  The  lower  portion  was  more  a  carbonaceous  slate.  The 
same  seam  crops  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill,  in  the  north  part 


POPE    COUNTY.  441 

of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  23.  Another  outcrop  of  stone  coal 
occurs  on  a  branch  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  in  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  18,  township  11,  range  7,  near  Mr.  Wallace's  place.  The 
thickness  of  the  seam  is  variously  stated  to  be  from  four  to  twelve 
inches.  It  is  also  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  Conglomerate,  but 
can  hardly  be  near  its  base. 

On  Little  Bear  creek,  a  branch  of  Lusk  creek,  I  observed  a  thin 
seam  of  coal,  in  the  extreme  southeast  part  of  section  29,  township 
11,  range  6.  It  is  from  six  to  eight  inches  thick  where  it  has  been 
exposed,  and  is  covered  with  some  shaly  strata,  while  the  hills  show 
numerous  outcrops  of  the  sandstone.  This  is  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  formation,  but  apparently  far  above  its  base. 

The  upper  part  of  this  formation  crosses  the  county  line  from 
Johnson  county,  near  the  head  of  Little  Bay  creek.  We  then 
recognize  it  around  the  head  of  Bay  river,  and  on  its  east  side  as 
far  south  as  the  south  part  of  section  3,  township  12,  range  5 ;  also 
on  the  Golconda  and  Marion  road,  near  the  head  of  Bear  creek,  in 
the  south  part  of  section  30,  township  11,  range  6,  and  around  the 
head  of  Lusk  creek,  and  some  distance  south  between  its  branches. 
It  also  occupies  the  whole  county  north  of  these  points. 

The  coal  seam,  separating  the  upper  from  the  lower  Conglomerate, 
was  observed  at  the  head  of  Miller's  creek,  a  branch  of  the  Little 
Saline,  in  the  breaks  on  the  north  side  of  the  high  dividing  ridge, 
near  the  middle  of  the  south  half  of  section  20,  township  11,  range 
5.  In  the  bed  of  the  branch  sandstone  is  in  place,  while  the  bank 
consists,  to  a  height  of  10  feet,  of  slaty  shales.  In  these,  a  few  feet 
above  the  sandstone,  we  find  black,  highly  carbonaceous  slate, 
changing  into  slaty  coal,  which  appeared  to  be  about  one  foot  thick. 
In  the  outcrop  it  is  too  impure  for  general  use,  but  might  be  better 
at  other  points.  The  sandstones  below  the  coal  lower  down  form 
bluffs  along  the  branch.  A  short  distance  above  the  outcrop  of  coal 
there  is  a  weak  copperas  spring  in  the  bed  of  the  ravine,  which  is 
probably  caused  by  the  sulphuret  of  iron  in  the  shales  and  coal 
in  this  formation. 

No  coal  has  thus  far  been  observed  on  the  branches  of  Bay  creek, 
except  near  Mr.  Joel  Claredy's  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  3, 
township  12,  range  5.  The  outcrop  is  on  the  upper  course  of  a  small 
branch,  and  consists  of  some  shaly  slates  of  gray  and  black  color} 
with  12  inches  of  slaty,  impure  coal.  No  other  rocks  are  exposed 
close  by,  but  lower  down  the  branch,  and  all  along  Bay  river,  in 
this  vicinity,  the  lower  Conglomerate  is  exposed  in  high  cliffs,  while 


442  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  ridge  south  of  the  coal,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  3, 
presents  a  high  rocky  summit  of  peculiar  appearance,  which  seems 
to  be  formed  of  the  upper  part  of  this  formation. 

At  the  head  of  Haze's  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
31,  township  11,  range  6,  some  coal  is  also  said  to  have  been  dis- 
covered, but  no  traces  of  it  were  exposed  at  the  time  of  my  visit, 
and  I  could  not  obtain  any  definite  information  in  regard  to  it.  I 
should  expect,  however,  to  find  the  Claredy  seam  either  here  or  else 
a  little  higher  up  towards  the  head  of  the  branch. 

The  only  point  on  the  head  waters  of  Lusk  creek,  where  coal  has 
thus  far  been  discovered,  is  at  the  place  known  as  Henry's  diggings, 
in  the  southeast  corner  of  section  9,  and  along  the  east  side  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  16,  township  11,  range  6,  apparently, 
also,  at  the  base  of  the  upper  Conglomerate.  The  point  where  the 
digging  has  been  done,  and  the  coal  is  thickest,  is  in  the  slope 
some  feet  above  a  dry  branch.  The  coal  is  there  from  20  to  24 
inches  thick,  of  pretty  good  quality,  and  rests  on  a  blue  or  black 
carbonaceous  and  arenaceous  slate,  underneath  which  is  sandstone. 
It  is  capped  by  several  feet  of  blue  and  gray  shaly  rocks,  which 
are  followed  by  sandstones.  A  little  higher  up  the  branch  its  bed 
consists  of  the  bottom  slate  and  the  bank  of  the  coal,  which  is  here 
rather  thinner  than  before.  It  is  capped  by  only  a  few  inches  of 
shale  and  then  sandstone.  Still  a  little  higher  up  the  branch,  a  few 
inches  of  coal  are  exposed,  with  sandstone  above  and  below;  and 
at  one  point  the  coal  is  divided  into  three  different  streaks  in  the 
sandstone.  All  three  exposures  show,  evidently,  the  same  bed  of 
coal ;  and  we  have  here  another  instance  of  mutability  of  this  form- 
ation. Another  outcrop  of  the  same  seam  is  on  Mr.  Moss'  land,  a 
little  farther  south,  in  the  south  part  of  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  16.  If  proper  search  was  made  by  digging  in  the  slopes 
near  the  base  of  the  upper  Conglomerate,  the  same  coal  seam  would 
undoubtedly  be  discovered  nearly  all  around  the  outcropping  edges 
of  this  formation,  except  where  it  is  locally  crushed  between  the 
sandstones. 

The  other  discoveries  of  coal  in  the  county  are  on  the  waters  of 
Saline  river.  Two  miles  north  of  Henry's  diggings,  in  the  north 
part  of  section  4,  township  11,  range  6,  on  a  branch  of  Block  House 
creek,  fragments  of  coal  and  slate  are  said  to  be  often  washed  out 
by  rains,  but  the  seam  has  never  been  discovered.  Undoubtedly 
the  same  seam  is  exposed,  however,  half  a  mile  north  of  the  county 
line,  on  another  branch  of  the  creek,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the 


POPE    COUNTY.  443 

northwest  quarter  of  section  34,  township  10,  range  6.  It  is,  perhaps, 
the  same  as  at  Henry's  diggings. 

The  next  outcrop  of  coal  is  high  up  on  a  ravine,  on  Caney  branch 
of  Little  Saline  creek,  at  Mr.  Griffith's,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  2,  township  11,  range  5.  The  sum- 
mit of  the  hills  consists  of  sandstones,  while  in  the  ravine  some 
shales  and  slates  are  exposed,  underneath  which  the  coal  has  been 
laid  bare  by  digging.  I  am  told  that  the  coal  was  18  inches  thick, 
and  inclosed  in  black  slate.  A  little  lower  down  the  ravine  I  noticed 
eight  feet  of  shaly  sandstone,  and  then  solid  ledges  of  sandstone. 
I  am  not  quite  satisfied  that  this  coal  seam  is  the  one  at  the  base 
of  the  upper  Conglomerate,  or  whether  it  is  higher  in  the  series. 

Half  a  mile  southeast  of  the  village  of  Stone  Fort,  just  south  of 
the  Saline  county  line,  at  Mr.  Stucker's,  in  the  northwest  quarter 
of  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  5,  township  11,  range  5,  some 
coal  has  also  been  discovered,  on  a  branch  of  Pond  creek,  in  a  low 
hill.  The  highest  rock  there  is  a  sandstone,  several  feet  thick, 
partly  in  shaly  layers,  which  dips  several  degrees  to  the  north-north- 
west, underneath  it  follows  some  feet  of  shaly  layers,  then  some 
slate  and  the  coal,  which  was  not  exposed  at  the  time  of  my  visit. 
It  seems  to  have  been  slaty  and  thin,  although  some  persons  state 
that  it  measured  two  and  one-half  feet.  It  is  probably  the  same 
seam  as  the  one  described  last.  The  sandstone  above  the  coal  forms 
a  low  bluff  ledge  along  the  ravine,  a  few  rods  lower  down,  and  I 
there  noticed  signs  of  the  coal,  but  it  very  soon  dips  underneath  the 
water  level. 

Economical  Geology. 

Coal. — From  the  foregoing  pages  it  appears  that  coal  has  been 
discovered  at  numerous  points  in  Pope  county,  but  that  it  forms 
generally  thin  and  irregularly  developed  beds  of  merely  local  import- 
ance. Those  divisions  of  the  Carboniferous  formation  which  contain 
the  rich  strata  of  coal  farther  north  and  northwest,  in  the  State,  do 
not  extend  into  this  county,  and  we  find  here  merely  the  lower 
numbers  of  this  formation,  which  are  far  less  productive. 


444 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


The  following  is  a  tabular   enumeration   of   all  the  points   where 
stone  coal  has  been  discovered  in  the  county : 


Owner, 
Neighbor,  or 
Name  of  Place. 

Township  . 

Range  

Section  

Quarter. 

Thickness 
Inches. 

Remarks. 

Stacker's    

11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 

11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
12 
12 
12 
12 
1" 

5 
5 
5 

»; 

6 
6 

C 
0 
6 
6 

6 
6 

0 

t> 
(> 
7 
7 
7 
7 
5 
5 

•; 
6 

7 

5 

2 
2i> 
10 
!» 
10 

at 

2!) 
14 

2:; 
2:i 

21  ; 

24 

2,-, 

::r, 
:•><; 
is 

20 
10 
21 
3 

ir. 
:w 

14 

i 

N.W.  of  N.E... 
N.W.  of  S.W... 

12(?)  
18.. 

Some  persons  stated  the  thickness 
...                 [at  thirty  inches. 

Griffith's  

Ely  Warren's  

S.  half... 

12... 

Henry's       

N.E.  of  N.E 

23               ( 

These  three  are  different  outcrops 
of  the  same  coal  seam    

Henry's  

S.E.  of  S.E  
S.E.  of  N.E...  . 

N.  half    . 

A  few  in< 
Thin....  ( 

IMoss  
Branch  of  Block- 
house creek  
Head  of  Haze's  c'k 
Shaff  elberger  

Loose  fragments  of  coal  in  branch. 
Traces  of  coal 

N.W... 

S.E.  
S.E.  corner  
N.  of  N.E  

6or  8... 
8or  10  

On  Little  Bear  creek  

On  a  drain  of  Little  creek  .  ... 

The  same  as  the  last  one  

S.E.  corner  
E.  of  N.E... 

8  or  10...  j 

Reported  to  me.     I  did  not  exam- 
ine them  

John  A.  Wasson's. 

S.E... 

8  or  i6... 
Thin 

On  Little  creek  

N.E.  of  N.W 

S.W.  of  S.E...  . 
S.E.  of  S.E.  .. 

N.E 

Thin  
Quite  thin 
Variously 
16 

Reported  in  the  bluffs  of  Little  c'k. 
seam;  in  a  well  on  a  ridge 

Wallace's 

reported,  from  4  to  12  inches 

'Squire  Johnson's. 
Smoot's.         

N.  of  N.W  .. 

Rotten,  impure  coal 

S.W.  of  N.W.  . 

Fragments  of  coal  on  the  slope, 
Shaly  coal  [under  roots  of  trees. 

Weston's  

S.  of  S.E... 

6  .. 

Joel  Claredy's  

N.E... 

12... 

S.E.  of  N.E.... 
S.W.  of  S.  E.... 
W.  half  

2  to6  

12  to  22.... 
18  or  more 
Thin 

On  a  drain  of  Haze's  creek  

Dr  Koch's 

On  Lusk  creek            •. 

Anderson's  

(?)  S.W. 

Reported 

i 

12 
115 
IS 

"y 

o 
o 

17 
4 

8 

12 

Mi'dle  of  N.  line 
N.W.  of  S.W... 
N.E.  of  S.E...  . 
S.W 

&  to  4 

Old  Mill    

At  least  4. 
A  few  

On  Sugar  creek  . 

Gord.  Thompson's  13 

18  inches  o 

f  coal  and  slate  in  a  well 

Of  this  list,  Nos.  21,  20,  27,  28  and  30  are  thin  streaks  of  coal 
in  the  Chester  formation,  which  are  entirely  unpromising.  -I  men- 
tion them  only  on  account  of  the  scientific  interest  attached  to 
them,  and  because  some  persons  might  build  fallaceous  hopes  on 
them,  or  any  other  outcrops  which  might,  in  future,  be  discovered 
in  similar  situations. 

The  other  numbers  all  occur  in  the  Conglomerate.  Of  these,  Nos. 
9,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  19,  20,  23,  24,  29,  and  probably,  also, 
25,  17,  and  perhaps  18,  are  different  outcrops  of  apparently  two, 
perhaps  three,  or  even  four  coal  seams  at  the  base  and  in  the 
lower  portion  of  this  formation.  They  are,  at  most  points,  too  thin 
and  impure  to  be  worked  with  profit,  even  on  a  limited  scale,  for 
the  local  supply  of  the  neighborhood,  and  present  a  great  degree 
of  irregularity  in  their  development,  changing  rapidly  in  thickness 
and  quality.  At  a  few  of  these  points  only  we  find  the  coal  suffi- 
ciently thick  to  be  worked  profitably,  and  at  the  same  time  of  good 
quality — such  as  Nos.  24  and  25.  How  far  this  increased  thickness 
of  these  seams  extends  can  not  be  judged  before  hand  with  the 
least  degree  of  certainty;  it  can  only  be  ascertained  by  digging,  for 


POPE    COUNTY.  445 

we  have  seen  that  No.  24  changed  entirely  within  a  few  yards.  In 
the  course  of  time  the  same  strata  will  be  laid  bare  at  many  other 
points,  and  then  we  may  expect  to  find  them  at  some  of  these 
equally  thick  or  thicker,  so  that  they  will  afford  an  abundant  local 
supply  of  coal. 

The  numbers  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8  and  22  appear  to  be  different  out- 
crops of  the  coal  seam  between  the  lower  and  upper  Conglomerate, 
and  perhaps  Nos.  1  and  2  form  the  continuation  of  the  same  layer, 
but  I  rather  think  they  are  from  a  higher  horizon.  These  strata 
are  a  little  more  promising  than  those  in  the  lower  part  of  the  sand- 
stone, as  may  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  table ;  and  we  know,  from 
the  reports  on  the  counties  farther  west,  that  the  continuation  of 
this  seam  in  those  counties  can  be  profitably  worked  at  various 
points.  Still  the  thickness  of  the  stratum  is  quite  variable,  and  it 
is  generally  too  thin  to  pay  for  working  at  any  considerable  depth. 
The  quality  of  the  coal  is  frequently  inferior,  and  it  is  at  most 
points  considerably  charged  with  sulphuret  of  iron,  and  it  is  also 
slaty.  As  long  as  timber  is  so  abundant  in  this  district,  and  good 
coal  can  be  obtained  at  a  moderate  cost  from  other  points  these 
inferior  coal  strata  will  hardly  be  worked  extensively. 

Of  course  the  coal  seams  might  easily  be  traced  from  the  points 
at  which  they  have  been  discovered,  by  following  the  outcrops  of 
the  strata  around  the  hills,  and  digging  through  the  superficial  deposits 
at  convenient  points.  In  some  places  the  coal  seams  might  possibly 
be  found  thicker  than  in  any  of  the  enumerated  outcrops,  but  it 
would  be  unsafe  to  calculate  on  that,  and  they  would  undoubtedly 
preserve  their  very  irregular  character. 

Iron  ores, — Iron  is  largely  disseminated  through  the  rocks  of  Pope 
county,  especially  through  the  sandstones  of  the  Conglomerate  form- 
ation, in  which  it  is  at  many  points  sufficiently  concentrated  to 
form  iron  ores,  generally  in  the  form  of  the  hydrous  peroxide  (the 
brown  hematite  or  limonite  «ore).  We  find  this  ore  principally  in 
two  horizons,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  upper  Conglomerate  and  near 
the  base  of  the  lower,  close  to  the  junction  of  the  latter  with  the 
uppermost  layers  of  the  Chester  limestones.  The  chalybeate  waters 
percolating  the  sandstone  were  evidently  decomposed  on  nearing 
this  limestone,  and  the  iron  precipitated.  The  iron  ores,  having 
been  deposited  within  the  strata  of  sandstones,  are  consequently 
mixed  with  sand  to  a  greater  or  less  degree.  At  some  points  the 
sandstones  are  merely  impregnated  with  the  ore;  at  others  we  find 
pieces  of  nearly  pure  ore,  interspersed  with  sandy  portions ;  while 
at  some  the  iron  appears  to  prevail  to  such  an  extent  as  to  form 


446  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

I 

rather  pure  ores,  with  only  small  admixtures  of  sandy  masses. 
The  sand  is  a  very  unwelcome  admixture  to  iron-masters,  because, 
being  intimately  mixed  with  the  ore,  it  easily  combines  in  the  fur- 
nace with  the  iron  and  forms  slag,  instead  of  separating  in  a  metal- 
lic form,  a  tendency  which  can  only  be  checked  by  a  very  large 
addition  of  lime  and  an  increased  heat  of  the  furnace.  This  renders 
the  process  more  expensive  and  produces  other  unwelcome  results. 

One  of  the  places  where  the  ore  is  most  abundant  in  the  upper 
Conglomerate  is  just  south  of  the  summit  of  the  dividing  ridge,  near 
the  head  of  Little  Bay  creek,  close  to  the  line  of  Johnson  county, 
in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  30,  township  11,  range  5.  There 
I  observed  large  pieces  of  partly  pure,  partly  highly  arenaceous  ore, 
lying  loose  on  the  slope ;  and  I  noticed  similar  points  farther  east, 
especially  on  the  ridge  near  the  upper  course  of  Bay  creek,  in  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  13,  township  11,  range  5,  and  farther 
on.  Ferruginous  layers  of  sandstone  are  frequently  exposed  in  this 
horizon,  but  I  have  never  yet  seen  the  ore  exposed  in  a  solid  bed, 
which  it  would  nevertheless  seem  to  form  at  some  points. 

The  iron  ore  at  the  base  of  the  lower  Conglomerate  seems  to  be 
more  concentrated,  and,  consequently,  purer.  Some  of  the  best  sam- 
ples of  the  ore  were  obtained  just  below  the  summit  of  a  high  ridge 
east  of  Lusk  creek,  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  10,  town- 
ship 13,  range  6.  The  slope  consists  of  the  upper  Chester  limestone, 
while  the  summit  is  formed  by  the  Conglomerate.  This  ore  was 
found  tumbling  near  the  junction  of  the  two  formations,  which  is 
not  exposed.  It  would  not  require  a  very  great  expenditure  of  money 
and  labor  to  ascertain,  by  removing  the  soil  and  detritus,  whether 
the  ore  there  forms  a  regular  bed  or  occurs  merely  in  detached 
masses.  It  would  seem  to  form  a  regular  stratum,  because  we 
observe  the  ore  at  many  other  points  at  the  same  geological  level — 
for  example,  a  mile  farther  northwest  in  the  bluffs  on  the  west  side 
of  Lusk  creek,  in  the  south  part  of  section  5,  township  13,  range  6, 
and  at  other  places. 

In  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  25, 
township  12,  range  6,  at  the  abrupt  edge  of  the  continuation  of  the 
same  summit,  the  lowest  layers  of  the  sandstone  are  considerably 
ferruginous,  full  of  small  nodules  of  the  iron  ore,  but  the  ore  is  scat- 
tered through  a  great  thickness  of  rocks,  and  not  sufficiently  concen- 
trated to  be  available.  Some  miles  farther  northeast,  in  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  29,  township  11,  range  7,  much  tumbling  ore 
was  observed  in  an  analogous  position;  also,  on  Haze's  creek,  in 
the  south  part  of  section  11,  township  12,  range  4,  and  at  other 


POPE    COUNTY.  447 

points.  Nowhere  in  this  county  did  I  observe  this  ore  actually  ex- 
posed in  a  regular  stratum  in  the  rocks ;  but  a  short  distance  beyond 
the  county  line,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Hardin  county,  in  sec- 
tion 2,  township  11,  range  7,  such  a  bed  of  ore  is  exposed  in  a 
branch  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  at  the  junction  of  the  Conglomerate  and 
Chester  formations,  and  I  have  observed  a  similar  ore  bed  in  the 
same  position,  far  to  the  northwest,  in  Jackson  county,  on  a  branch 
of  Kincaid  creek. 

In  order  to  determine  whether  the  iron  ores  of  Pope  county  are 
developed  in  sufficient  quantity,  and  of  sufficient  purity  to  be  made 
available  for  the  manufacture  of  iron,  it  would  be  necessary  to  prove 
the  proper  strata  by  a  series  of  systematically  conducted  excavations. 
Although  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  timber  in  the  county,  the  prin- 
cipal fuel  for  high  furnaces  would  have  to  be  stone  coal,  because  the 
broken  character  of  the  county  would  render  the  transportation  of 
charcoal  from  a  distance  too  costly;  and  besides,  most  of  the  lands 
are  held  in  small  tracts  by  farmers.  The  vicinity  of  a  good  coal 
bed,  or  facility  of  transportation  to  the  Ohio,  or  to  a  railroad,  would 
then  be  the  conditions  required  to  make  even  a  rich  ore  bank 
profitable. 

Lead  Ores  and  Fluor  Spar. — Lead  ores  have  been  discovered  at 
several  points  in  Pope  county,  but  thus  far  only  in  small  quantities. 
They  are  generally  accompanied  by  fluor  spar,  a  mineral  which 
occurs  only  in  Pope  and  Hardin  counties  in  this  State,  nor,  I  believe, 
in  any  other  of  the  Northwestern  States,  except  in  a  similar  connec- 
tion south  of  the  Ohio  river,  in  Kentucky.  Both  of  these  minerals 
appear  to  occur  only  in  such  places  where  the  strata  have  been  frac- 
tured by  faults  or  violent  upheavals.  The  deep  fissures  thus  formed 
either  admitted  the  minerals  from  a  great  depth,  and  enabled  them 
to  permeate  the  fractured  strata  nearer  to  the  surface,  or  else  these 
fissures  induced  a  segregation  of  these  minerals  from  the  fractured 
strata  themselves,  in  which  they  may  have  before  been  diffused,  in 
such  a  state  of  mechanical  division,  or  dilution,  as  to  be  impercept- 
ible. The  limestones  are  by  no  means  the  exclusive,  but  they  are  the 
favorite  depositories  of  the  galena,  and  therefore  the  heavy  limestone 
formation  underneath  the  Chester  series  is  the  richest  in  galena  in  this 
district.  It  is  this  formation  which  contains  the  lead  ores  in  various 
parts  of  Hardin  county.  Wherever  these  minerals  are  present,  the 
adjoining  rocks  have  undergone  a  mineralization,  the  sandstones  have 
become  firmly  cemented,  and  exhibit  a  transition  into  quartzite; 
while  the  limestones  have  become  more  or  less  crystalline,  are  veined 


448  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

with  spar,  and  have,  in  some  cases,  lost  all  semblance  *of  their  former 
state,  and  of  the  unaltered  rocks  close  by. 

In  the  south  part  of  Pope  county,  fluor  spar  has  been  discovered 
in  altered  strata  of  the  sandstones  No.  8  of  the  Chester  series,  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  fault  near  the  mouth  of  Big  river,  as  I  have 
stated  in  a  former  report. 

In  the  same  strata  some  galena  has  been  found  at  the  Stockton 
ford  of  Grahk  Pierre  creek,  in  the  west  part  of  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  22,  township  12,  range  7.  There  the  sandstone  No.  8 
forms  the  bed  and  bank  of  the  creek.  It  is  traversed  by  numerous 
irregular  fissures,  whereby  the  lines  of  stratification  are  entirely 
obliterated.  The  general  dip  of  the  strata  is  undoubtedly  to  the 
westward,  and  in  this  sandstone  we  find,  within  a  limited  area, 
bunches  of  calcareous  spar  and  numerous  small  granules  of  galena. 
Some  holes  have  been  dug  on  the  eastern  bank,  in  which  blue  shaly 
strata  were  struck  underneath  a  few  feet  of  sandstone,  but  no  farther 
discoveries  were  made;  nor  is  it  likely  that  paying  quantities  of 
galena  will  ever  be  found  there.  The  upper  layers  of  this  sandstone 
are  those  exposed  at  the  ford.  It  is  considerably  thick  in  this 
vicinity,  probably  some  200  feet;  and  the  galena  is,  most  probably, 
sparingly  disseminated  in  the  sandstone,  although  very  likely  it  is 
contained  in  larger  quantities  in  the  underlying  limestone.  The  lime- 
stones above  the  sandstone  are  not  exposed  close  to  the  ford. 

About  four  miles  farther  north,  the  St.  Louis  limestone  rises  to 
the  surface  near  the  east  line  of  Pope  county.  Little  over  a  mile 
east  of  the  county  line,  we  observe  in  this  vicinity  a  centre  of  up- 
heaval where  Devonian  rocks  are  brought  to  the  surface,  and  whence 
the  strata  dip  strongly  in  every  direction  for  miles  around.  In  the 
upper  portion  of  these  tilted  limestones,  we  find  some  fluor  spar  and 
galena,  both  in  Pope  and  Hardin  counties,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
county  line,  and  various  excavations  have  been  made  in  search  of 
lead  ore  at  a  point  where  the  fluor  spar  or  calcareous  spar  had  been 
observed  on  the  surface.  In  1849,  this  vicinity  was  explored  and 
proved  by  various  parties,  who  did  not,  however,  obtain  satisfactory 
results.  The  most  extensive  of  these  excavations  is  situated  on  a 
branch  of  Grand  Pierre  creek,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  22, 
township  11,  range  7,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  west  of  the  county  line, 
not  far  from  Mr.  Baldwin's.  There,  on  the  north  side  of  the  branch, 
a  drift  was  carried  forward  300  feet  into  the  hillside,  all  through  this 
formation  northward,  in  the  direction  of  its  trend.  Half  way  between 
the  mouth  and  the  end  of  the  drift,  a  shaft  was  sunk  about  60  feet 
below  its  level.  No  regular  vein  nor  even  a  well  defined  mineral- 


POPE  COUNTY.  449 

bearing  opening  was  discovered.  A  part  of  the  limestone  was  some- 
what altered ;  it  contained  single  crystalline  masses  and  small  irreg- 
ular veins  of  white  and  blue  fluor  spar,  with  larger  or  smaller 
particles,  and  chunks  of  galena,  and  some  blende.  The  amount  of 
lead  ore  thus  obtained  was  not  large,  and  the  whole  aspect  of  things 
did  not  warrant  a  further  prosecution  of  the  work.  Nearly  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  drift,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  branch,  I  observed 
veins  of  calcareous  spar  in  the  limestone.  This  point,  too,  was 
proved,  but  soon  abandoned  as  unpromising. 

Half  a  mile  farther  northeast,  a  short  distance  east  of  the  Hardin 
county  line,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  23,  township  11,  range  7,  a  trial  shaft  was  sunk,  and  some 
specimens  of  a  green  mineral  obtained,  which  proved  to  be  the  white 
carbonate  of  lead,  tinged  green  by  a  minute  admixture  of  carbonate 
of  copper,  which  are  both  evidently  products  of  the  oxidation  of  the 
sulphurets  of  these  ores.  Hereabout,  and  also  in  the  same  formation 
at  Rosiclare,  the  copper  ores  occur  only  in  very  small  quantity,  so 
that  they  are  liable  to  be  overlooked  entirely. 

White,  violet-colored,  or  light  greenish  fluor  spar  was  further 
noticed  at  several  points  a  little  farther  south,  in  the  same  strata, 
at  all  of  which  places  it  has  been  dug  into,  especially  just  east  of 
the  county  line  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  26,  township  11, 
range  7 ;  then  at  the  Hogg  place,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 26  (?),  and  west  of  the  county  line,  in  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  34,  and  near  the  center  of  the  east  half  of  section  34, 
township  11,  range  7.  At  this  latter  place  some  galena  was  observed, 
together  with  calcareous  spar.  At  none  of  these  points  was  a  defi- 
nite lode  struck,  but  the  minerals  seem  .  to  have  been  scatteringly 
disseminated  through  the  rock,  and  not  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
justify  the  continuation  of  the  explorations. 

All  the  other  points  at  which  fluor  spar  and  galena  have  been 
discovered  in  the  county  are  in  the  Chester  formation,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  fault,  which  passes  diagonally  from  northeast  to  southwest 
through  the  county.  The  best  explored  point  is  on  the  west  side  of 
Lusk  creek,  just  above  the  crossing  of  the  Golconda  and  Marion 
road,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  northeast  quarter,  and  the 
northeast  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  16,  township 
12,  range  6,  and  is  known  as  Whiting's  diggings.  They  are  situated 
in  what  appears  to  be  the  uppermost  member  of  the  Chester  series, 
which  consists  of  limestones  with  intercalations  of  shales.  The 
limestone  is  locally  altered;  it  has  become  crystalline,  and  contains 
—29 


450  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OP   ILLINOIS. 

masses  of  calcareous  spar,  with  fluor  spar,  galena,  zinc  blende,  and 
traces  of  copper  pyrites,  very  much  as  at  the  above  named  points, 
where  the  St.  Louis  limestone  is  similarly  mineralized.  Some  con- 
siderable excavations  have  been  made,  but  apparently  with  indifferent 
results.  I  could  not  obtain  a  satisfactory  account  of  the  progress 
and  results  of  the  work ;  but  it  seems  that  the  ore  was  not  accumu- 
lated in  a  vein,  but  disseminated  through  the  rock  in  single  chunks, 
together  with  the  other  minerals.  The  fault  must  pass  within  a 
few  yards  of  the  diggings,  and  east  of  them,  and  the  mineralization 
of  the  limestone  does  not  appear  to  have  extended  to  any  great 
distance  from  the  fault.  On  the  west  side  of  the  narrow  hill  the 
limestone  is  neither  altered  nor  mineral  bearing.  The  mineralization 
most  probably  extends  northeastward  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
fault,  although  the  fissure  or  fault  itself  may  not  carry  any  galena. 
On  digging  in  any  other  direction  the  limestone  would  soon  be 
passed  through,  and  the  underlying  shales  reached,  which  are 
intercalated  between  the  different  limestones.  The  galena  is  not 
likely  to  extend  into  the  shales,  although  it  may  be  found  again 
beyond  them  in  the  next  limestone.  The  fact  that  the  single  bodies 
of  limestone  are  not  thick,  and  are  frequently  interrupted  with 
shales,  and  lower  down  also  with  sandstones,  reaffirms  me  in  the 
conclusion  that  the  ore  deposit,  thus  interrupted,  would  not  be  likely 
to  be  very  extensive,  even  if  it  was  rich  at  one  point,  in  these 
Chester  strata.  By  penetrating  to  a  great  depth  near  the  fault,  we 
could  get  to  the  lower  Chester  limestone,  and  finally  to  the  St.  Louis- 
limestone.  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  considerable  lead  ore  was 
stored  in  this  latter  formation,  which  seems  to  be  the  lead-bearing 
rock  of  this  district,  and  that  the  lead  ores  near  the  surface  were 
merely  a  scattering  outlier  of  the  hidden  riches.  But  this  limestone 
is  at  least  five  or  six  hundred  feet  below  the  surface  here,  and  the 
expense  of  sinking  to  that  depth  would  not  be  justified,  by  the 
present  indications,  from  the  natural  exposures  of  the  strata. 

A  mile  northeast  of  the  first  digging,  also  on  the  west  side  of 
Lusk  creek,  and  close  to  the  line  of  the  fault,  in  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  10,  the  Chester  limestone  is  again  veined  with 
calcareous  spar,  and  tumbling  masses  of  the  overlying  sandstone 
are  somewhat  altered,  cherty,  and  contain  some  fluor  spar.  Here, 
too,  some  holes  were  dug  in  the  hope  of  striking  a  vein  of  galena, 
but  apparently  without  success.  Not  much  labor  seems  to  have 
been  expended  here,  and  the  work  has  not  been  done  system- 
atically. 


POPE     COUNTY.  451 

A  similar  point  is  a  mile  farther  northeast,  in  the  hills,  in  the 
forks  of  Lusk  and  Little  creeks,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
3,  township  12,  range  6,  of  which  I  have  already  spoken  in  describing 
the  Chester  strata  in  this  vicinity.  No  valuable  discoveries  were 
made  here,  either,  although  some  galena  is  said  to  have  been  found 
with  the  fiuor  spar.  At  other  points  of  this  neighborhood,  even 
nearer  to  the  fault  itself,  no  signs  of  mineralization  were  discovered. 
Although  the  prospects  are  not  very  promising,  it  would  be  quite 
interesting,  and,  possibly,  remunerative,  to  prove  this  whole  district 
more  systematically  than  has  beem  done  heretofore. 

Some  miles  farther  northeast,  near  the  line  of  the  same  disturb- 
ance, close  to  Mr.  John  A.  Wasson's,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  25  (?),  township  11,  range  6,  I  found  some  of  the  Chester 
limestones  somewhat  veined  with  calcareous  spar,  but  no  traces  of 
fluor  spar  or  galena,  which  I  had  been  led  to  expect  from  current 
reports.  North  of  this,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  13, 
township  11,  range  6,  where  the  same  strata  appear  to  be  similarly 
disturbed,  loose  masses  of  sandstone  cover  the  hills,  and  contain, 
at  one  point,  small  veins  of  calcareous  spar,  and  are  somewhat 
altered.  Here  a  hole  was  dug  many  years  ago  in  search  of  galena, 
with  apparently  no  satisfactory  result. 

At  all  the  above  named  points  there  were  more  or  less  indications 
of  the  presence  of  valuable  ores,  although  it  appears,  from  the  pre- 
ceding remarks,  that  the  hopes  founded  on  them  have  not,  thus  far 
at  least,  been  realized.  On  a  branch  of  Haze's  creek,  in  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  24,  township  12,  range  5,  some  years  ago,  a 
hole  was  dug  to  the  upper  Chester  strata  in  search  of  mineral,  by 
a  Mr.  Bailey.  His  expectations  appear  not  to  have  been  well 
founded ;  at  least  I  could  not  see  anything  that  would,  in  the  least, 
point  to  the  presence  of  any  valuable  minerals. 

The  lead  ores  of  Pope  county  have  not  yet  been  tested  for  silver, 
but  most  probably  they  contain  a  small  proportion  of  this  metal, 
like  the  Kosiclare  galena  of  Hardin  county. 

Mineral  Springs. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  springs  in  Pope  county,  the  water  of 
which  contain  sulphate  of  iron  (copperas)  as  its  principal  mineral 
ingredient.  They  are  commonly,  although  improperly,  called  sulphur 
springs,  which  name  is  generally  understood  to  designate  springs 
containing  sulphureted  hydrogen.  These  copperas  springs  may  be 
recognized  at  once  by  the  yellowish-brown  deposit  of  hydrous  oxide 


452  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

of  iron  (iron  rust)  which  they  deposit.  They  originate  from  the 
oxidation  of  the  sulphuret  of  iron,  disseminated  through  the  Con- 
glomerate and  Chester  formation,  and  through  our  coal  seams,  and 
occur  at  numerous  points  throughout  these  formations.  The  other 
ingredients  of  these  waters,  wherever  they  contain  any  other  in  ap- 
preciable quantity,  are  salts  of  magnesia,  lime,  etc. 

The  most  noted  of  these  springs  in  Pope  county  are :  one  at  the 
head 'of  Miller's  branch  of  Little  Saline  creek,  on  the  south  side  of 
section  20,  township  11,  range  5 ;  one  near  Mr.  John  A.  Wasson's 
near  Little  creek,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  25  (?),  town- 
ship 11,  range  6 ;  and  the  Dixon  springs,  near  Hill's  branch  of 
Sugar  creek,  north  of. the  lower  Golconda  and  Vienna  road,  in  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  1C,  township  13,  range  5.  This  latter 
spring  has  some  reputation  as  a  watering  place,  and  is  frequently 
visited  by  persons  from  Paducah. 

The  medical  properties  of  the  waters  of  these  springs  are  the 
same  as  those  of  the  springs  in  Johnson  county.  The  iron  salt 
in  the  water,  in  the  first  place,  stimulates  the  system  and  operates 
on  the  bowels ;  but  when  it  is  used  longer  than  a  few  days,  its 
astringent  qualities  gain  the  upper  hand,  and  its  further  use  is  then 
in  most  cases,  to  say  the  least,  not  advisable.  Some  physicians 
are  of  the  opinion  that  the  iron  of  the  water  is  particularly  benefi- 
cial in  this  climate,  where  miasmatic  influences  prevail,  and  the 
composition  of  the  blood  is  affected  by  them,  and  requires  a  cor- 
rective afforded  by  the  iron.  An  artificial  compound  of  iron  would, 
however,  in  most  cases,  be  used  more  conveniently,  and  to  better 
effect. 

Efflorescence  of  Salts. 

In  the  bluffs  of  the  Ohio  river,  under  overhanging  cliffs  of  one  of 
the  Chester  sandstones  (No.  6  of  the  series),  I  observed  the  efflor- 
escence of  a  salt  covering  the  rock  and  filling  crevices  between  shelly 
portions  of  the  sandstone.  This  is  about  three  miles  above  Gol- 
conda, below  a  vineyard  belonging  to  Dr.  H.  Koch,  of  St.  Louis,  in 
section  8,  township  13,  range  7.  These  salts  proved,  on  examina- 
tion, to  be  natural  Epsom  salts,  the  hydrous  sulphate  of  magnesia, 
the  Epsomite  of  the  mineralogists,  which  has  been  observed  in  sim- 
ilar locations  in  several  of  the  adjoining  States,  and  at  other  points 
in  Illinois. 

\A  similar  efflorescence  was  observed  in  the  bluffs  of  Bay  river,  in 
he  northeast  quarter  of  section  32,  township  13,  range  5,  apparently 


POPE     COUNTY.  453 

in  the  same  Chester  sandstone,  where  the  salt  is  even  more  abund- 
ant.    It  is  eagerly  sought  for  by  wild  and  tame  animals. 

This  Epsomite  occurs  hardly  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  of  any 
value,  but  I  mention  it  because  it  has  been  frequently  mistaken  for 
saltpetre,  and  on  account  of  the  scientific  interest  attached  to  its 
discovery. 

Clay. 

I  saw  several  samples  of  clay  from  different  parts  of  the  county, 
which,  if  we  may  judge  from  their  appearance  alone,  might  be  ser- 
viceable for  making  ordinary  potters'  ware.  One  of  them  was  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Weston,  who  lives  in  section  22,  township  11, 
range  7 ;  but  the  most  important  deposit  of  this  kind  is  the  white 
clay  which  is  found  at  the  lead  diggings,  in  the  east  part  of  section 
16,  township  12,  range  6,  near  Lusk  creek.  The  pure  portions  of 
this  clay — some  of  it  is  mechanically  mixed  with  extraneous  impu- 
rities, which  deteriorate  its  quality — are  purely  white,  or  have  a 
slightly  bluish  tint.  It  is  from  uneven  to  subconchoidal  in  fracture, 
without  the  least  grit,  unctuous  to  the  touch,  and  adheres  vigorously 
to  the  moist  tongue.  When  moist  it  is  translucent,  and  by 
long  exposure  and  working  it  becomes  plastic,  which  it  is  not 
when  it  is  newly  dug.  It  is  a  rather  pure  silicate  of  alumina, 
free  of  iron,  magnesia  and  other  substances  which  would  affect  its 
color  and  fusibility.  It  withstands  a  very  intense  furnace  heat  with- 
out showing  signs  of  melting,  and  is,  therefore,  a  very  superior 
article  for  manufacturing  queensware.  I  have  seen  articles,  said  to 
have  been  manufactured  from  it,  of  very  superior  quality.  If  we 
consider  that  the  earths  of  all  the  famous  porcelain  manufactories 
of  the  old  world  are  artificial  mixtures  of  various  clays,  etc.,  it 
appears  reasonable  to  expect  that  .this  clay  could  serve  as  the  prin- 
cipal ingredient  for  a  similar  manufactory.  It  has  been  claimed  to 
be  kaolin  or  porcelain  earth,  but  this  is  an  error.  Kaolin  is  a  sili- 
cate of  alumina  formed  by  the  decomposition  of  feld  spar,  while  the 
clay  in  question,  although  it  may  be  similar  to  kaolin  in  composi- 
tion, is  not  formed  in  that  way. 

A  complete  analysis  of  this  earth  has  not  yet  been  made,  but  a 
series  of  preliminary  tests  which  I  have  instituted  have  proved  its 
purity  and  the  difficulty  of  melting  it.  Its  less  pure  portions  might 

be  advantageously  made  into  fire  brick. 

i 
It  is  exposed  on  the  side  of  the  hill,  about  15  feet  thick ;  but  the 

excavation   is   not   sufficient   to  determine  the  true  character  of  the 


454  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

deposit.  Perhaps  it  is  an  altered  shale  of  the  Chester  series,  interca- 
lated between  the  limestones,  which  has  assumed  its  present  condi- 
tion through  the  same  agencies  which  caused  the  mineralization  of 
the  limestones,  at  the  time  when  the  galena  and  fluor  spar  were 
deposited.  In  this  case  it  would  form  a  regular  stratum,  although 
some  distance  in  the  hill  it  would  gradually  change  to  an  ordinary 
shale,  such  as  it  was  before  it  was  altered.  Perhaps,  however,  it  is 
only  a  deposit  on  the  side  of  the  hill  and  in  immediate  connection 
with  the  fault  which  passes  there  through  the  formation.  The  value 
of  this  clay  depends  in  a  large  degree  upon  the  quantity  to  be  ob" 
tained,  and  upon  the  proportion  between  the  entirely  pure  and  the 
mixed  portion  of  it,  which  can  not  be  determined  except  by  farther 
digging.  It  can  be  wrought  easily,  and  is  accessible  by  a  good  road. 
Its  distance  from  the  Ohio  is  about  10  miles. 

Building   Materials. 

Pope  county  is  rich  in  ordinary  building  materials,  in  sandstones 
and  limestones,  for  plain  masonry  and  for  heavy  work,  such  as  cul- 
verts, bridges,  wharves,  and  the  like.  For  the  latter  purpose  many 
boat-loads  of  sandstones,  from  the  bluffs  below  Golconda,  of  the 
Chester  sandstone  No.  8,  are  being  taken  to  Cairo.  This  point  has 
been  selected  on  account  of  the  facility  with  which  the  rock  can  be 
quarried  and  loaded  on  flat-boats ;  but  many  other  localities  along 
the  river  would  afford  equally  good  material. 

The  sandstones  of  the  Conglomerate  are  not  generally  good  build- 
ing stones,  but  single  layers  of  this  formation  are  excellent.  Thus 
'fine  building  stone  might  be  quarried  in  the  lowest  portion  of  the 
Conglomerate  on  the  slope  of  the  ridge  northwest  of  Glendale,  in 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  20,  township  12,  range  5,  and  at 
other  points.  The  sandstones  of  the  Chester  series  afford  a  vast 
amount  of  good  building  stones  in  various  parts  of  the  county,  and 
some  of  these  strata  are  also  suitable  for  window-sills,  door  steps 
and  similar  work,  although  few  would  seem  to  be  at  all  adapted  for 
ornamental  work.  Many  of  the  limestones  of  the  Chester  series  are 
also  good  for  ordinary  building  purposes,  while  a  portion  of  them  is 
too  hard  and  work  too  badly  to  be  of  much  use.  The  St.  Louis 
limestone  formation,  however,  which  crops  out  at  some  points  near 
the  Hardin  county  line  and  the  lowest  Chester  limestone,  at  the 
base  of  the  Ohio  bluffs,  below  Golconda,  contains  layers  of  a  very 
superior  rock,  which  dresses  finely  and  is  very  durable.  It  has  been 
quarried  at  Mr.  Foot's  place,  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  three  miles 
below  Golconda. 


POPE    COUNTY.  455 

The  higher  Chester  limestones  are  generally  too  impure  and  sili- 
ceous to  be  burnt  to  lime,  but  at  some  points  they  can  be  made  to 
supply  the  local  demand  with  a  dark-colored  quick-lime,  which  is 
good  for  making  mortar.  The  limestones  of  the  St.  Louis  forma- 
tion are  generally  purer,  and  part  of  them  make  the  very  best  white 
lime.  Sand  for  building  purposes  abounds  throughout  the  county. 

Millstones. 

The  lowest  strata  of  the  Conglomerate  form  the  summit  of  the 
extreme  southwest  spur  of  the  ridge,  which  extends  between  Bay 
river  and  Haze's  creek,  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  20, 
township  12,  range  5,  a  mile  northwest  of  Glendale.  There  is  one 
layer  of  these  sandstones  which  consists  of  siliceous  grains  of  sand, 
which  are  firmly  cemented  together  without  losing  their  roughness. 
This  rock  can  be  used  for  millstones.  In  former  years  quite  a  num- 
ber of  millstones  were  .quarried  on  this  summit,  to  be  used  in  the 
small  country  mills  of  the  vicinity,  and  some  are  said  to  have  been 
taken  from  this  point  as  far  as  Vandalia. 

Agriculture. 

I  need  not  say  anything  in  relation  to  the  soils  and  agricultural 
resources  of  Pope  county,  except  that  my  remarks  in  regard  to  John- 
son county  apply  exactly  to  this,  also.  The  geological  formations, 
the  surface  configuration,  the  growth  of  timber  and  the  agricultural 
features  are  the  same  in  both. 

Indian  Remains. 

I  can  not  close  these  remarks  without  referring,  as  a  matter  of 
general  interest,  to  the  ancient  works  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants 
of  this  country.  Arrow  heads,  stone  tools,  and  such  like  relics,  are 
found  in  many  places ;  and  the  Indians  seem  to  have  preferred  here, 
as  elsewhere,  for  their  burial  places,  the  high  points  of  the  bluffs, 
which  afford  an  extensive  view  over  the  surrounding  country. 
Numerous  small  mounds  or  piles  of  rock  mark  these  points. 

I  also  observed  one  of  their  fortifications  of  the  kind  generally 
designated  as  stone  forts,  by  the  present  inhabitants.  This  fort  is 
on  the  west  side  of  Lusk  creek,  a  short  distance  below  the  mouth 
of  Bear  creek,  near  the  southwest  corner  of  section  34,  township  11, 
range  6.  Lusk  creek  here  runs  through  a  narrow  gorge,  between 


456  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

high  cliffs  of  sandstone,  forming  a  sharp  bend.  In  this  bend  pro- 
jects a  narrow  spur,  lower  than  the  main  ridge,  with  rocky  vertical 
sides,  which  is  only  accessible  from  the  direction  of  the  main  ridge, 
with  which  it  connects  by  a  narrow  neck.  Across  this  neck  the 
Indians  had  built  a  wall  of  rocks,  loosely  piling  the  numerous  tumb- 
ling blocks  of  sandstone  which  covered  the  hill.  The  spur  beyond 
this  wall  was  then  easily  defensible,  and  evidently  served  as  a  place 
of  refuge  in  times  of  danger.  From  the  fort  they  could  descend  to 
the  creek  for  water  by  a  difijcult  avenue,  which  it  was  utterly  im- 
possible to  scale  from  below  if  it  was  defended  from  above.  Thus 
the  occupants  of  the  fort  could  resist  the  attacks  of  a  superior  force, 
and  if  not  entirely  surrounded  and  largely  outnumbered,  so  that 
they  could  be  cut  off  from  the  creek,  they  would  hold  out  as  long 
as  they  had  food.  Undoubtedly  many  a  fierce  battle  was  waged 
around  these  defenses. 


CHAPTEE    XVIII. 
ALEXANDER  COUNTY.*   ' 


This  county  forms  the  southern  [extremity  of  the  State,  and  is 
bounded  by  the  Mississippi  on  the  west  and  south,  by  the  Ohio  and 
Cache  rivers  on  the  east,  and  by  Union  county  on  the  north.  It 
includes  an  area  of  about  220  square  miles,  more  than  one-half  of 
which  is  alluvial  bottom  land,  occupying  the  borders  of  the  streams 
above  named,  and  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  county  these  bot- 
toms extend  entirely  across  it,  from  the  Cache  river  to  the  Missis- 
sippi. The  bottom  lands  are  generally  flat,  and  are  interspersed  with 
cypress  ponds  and  marshes,  and  a  portion  of  them  are  too  wet  for 
cultivation  without  a  thorough  system  of  drainage,  and  are  subject 
to  annual  inundations  from  the  floods  of  the  adjacent  rivers.  The 
most  elevated  portion  of  these  lands,  however,  has  a  light,  rich, 
sandy  soil,  and  is  susceptible  of  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  They 
are  heavily  timbered  with  white  oak,  swamp  white  oak,  bur  oak, 
Spanish  oak,  yellow  poplar  (tulip  tree),  shell-bark  and  pig-nut  hickory, 
ash,  beech,  and  white  and  sugar  maple,  all  of  which  are  found  on 
the  highest  bottoms,  and  indicate  a  soil  sufficiently  dry  for  cultivation. 
The  swampy  lands  are  characterized  by  the  growth  of  the  cypress, 
sweet  gum,  pecan,  tupelo  gum,  cottonwood,  willow,  etc. 

In  the  northern  portion  of  the  county,  the  Silurian  'end  Devonian 
formations  predominate,  and  the  surface  is  roughly  broken,  and  the 
arable  lands  are  mostly  confined  to  the  creek  bottoms  and  the  more 
gentle  slopes  adjacent  to  the  streams.  The  river  bluffs  above  Santa 
Fe  are  generally  steep  and  rocky,  often  presenting  towering  cliffs,  or 
rugged  chert  hills,  entirely  destitute  of  timber,  or  but  partially  cov- 
ered with  scrubby  trees  and  shrubs  that  find  a  scanty  foothold  in  the 
rocky  surface.  The  southern  boundary  of  these  older  formations  is 

*  This  and  the  three  following  counties  are  reported  in  part  from  the  observations  of 
Mr.  HENRY  ENGELMANN.  A.  H.  W. 


458 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


also  defined  by  a  line  of  bluffs,  similar  in  their  appearance  to  those 
on  the  Mississippi.  These  extend  about  half  way  across  the  county, 
in  the  lower  part  of  township  15  S.,  and  then  trend  off  northeast- 
wardly, leaving  a  bottom  from  three  to  five  miles  in  width  between 
them  and  the  Cache  river.  These  bluffs  appear  to  have  been  washed 
by  a  powerful  stream  at  some  former  period,  and  no  doubt  owe 
their  origin  to  the  same  cause  that  excavated  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 
The  following  section  illustrates  the  relative  position  and  thickness 
of  the  formations  in  Alexander  county: 


20  to  30  feet.      Alluvium. 


50  to  60  feet. 


40  to  50  feet. 


250  to  300  feet. 


250  feet. 


150  feet. 


75  feet. 


Tertiary.? 


Lower  Carboniferous  limestone  (?)  and  Siliceous  shales. 


Black  Slate,  passing  into  Siliceous  shales  and  flint  rocks. 


Hamilton,  Corniferous  and  Onondagagroups. 


Oriskany  group.  Clear  Creek  Limestones. 


Band  of  brown  Siliceous  shales. 


Lower  Helderberg  Limestone. 


Cincinnati  group,  limestone,  shale  and  sandstone. 


Trenton  Limestone. 


ALEXANDER   COUNTY.  459 

The  alluvial  deposits  of  this  county,  as  we  have  already  remarked, 
cover  the  lower  portion  of  the  county,  from  the  south  line  of  town- 
ship 15  south,  to  the  Ohio  river;  they  also  skirt  the  western  bank  of 
Cache  river,  nearly  to  the  north  line  of  the  county,  and  occupy  a 
large  portion  of  township  14  south,  range  3  west,  in  tire  northwest 
corner  of  the  county,  forming  a  wide  bottom  between  the  limestone 
bluffs  and  the  Mississippi.  They  consist  of  irregularly  stratified  beds 
of  sand  and  loamy  clay,  alternating  with  vegetable  humus,  similar 
to  those  seen  almost  anywhere  along  the  banks  of  our  large  rivers. 
Their  greatest  thickness  above  the  low-water  level  of  the  river  prob- 
ably does  not  exceed  thirty  feet. 

Tertiary  (?).— The  outcrop  of  this  formation,  as  we  have  elsewhere 
remarked,  is  restricted  to  a  few  of   the   most   southern   counties  in 
the  State,  and  although  we  have   obtained  fossils  of  this   age  from 
localities  much  further  north,  we  have  been   unable  to  identify  the 
strata   from  which   they   came.      This   group   forms   a  narrow  belt 
across  the  southern  portion  of   the    State,  overlying  unconformably 
the  most  southern  outcrops  of    the  palaeozoic  rocks.      Beginning  on 
the   Mississippi,    just   above   Santa  Fe,   in  this  county,  it  forms  a 
narrow  belt  extending  south  to  the  alluvial  bottoms,  and  very  prob- 
ably underlying  these,  it  extends  eastward  through  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Pulaski,  Massac  and   Pope  counties,    terminating  on  the 
Ohio  river,  along  the  lower  course  of  which  it  forms  numerous  out- 
crops.    The  best  exposure  of   beds  belonging  to  this  group,  in  this 
county,  we  found  near   Santa  Fe,  on  a  small    creek,  which  empties 
into  the  Mississippi  just  above  the  village.     They  consist  of  a  series 
of  sandstones  and  shales,  with  variegated  clays,  which  were  overlaid 
by  a   bed  of  ferruginous    Conglomerate  precisely  like   that   on   the 
Ohio  river,  in  Massac  county.     These  beds  form  the  following  section 
here: 

Ferruginous  Conglomerate 4  feet 

Yellowish  sand  and  sandy  shale.  \K  <-„  9n    .. 

.  -.--........ . .  . ...... .10    LU   £M 

variegated  clays 6    .. 

Sandstone  and  shale 25  to  30    " 

These  beds  dip  strongly  to  the  southward,  and  probably  plunge 
beneath  the  alluvium  of  the  Mississippi  bottoms.  Specimens  of  sili- 
ceous wood  are  common  in  this  vicinity,  and  may  be  picked  up  in 
the  ravines  intersecting  these  beds,  but  no  other  fossils  were  obtained 
from  the  group  in  this  county. 

The  variegated  clays  are  vermilion-colored,  purple  and  yellowish, 
though  sometimes  nearly  white.  There  are  some  spots  of  vermilion 
in  the  sandstone  and  shale,  though  the  prevailing  color  is  an  ashen 


460  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

gray.  These  beds  form  the  bluffs  of  the  river  for  about  a  mile  above 
Santa  Fe,  when  the  shales  of  the  Cincinnati  group  come  in,  and  a 
short  distance  back  from  the  river  these  are  overlaid  by  the  succeed- 
ing limestone.  Mr.  ENGELMANN  mentions  the  .occurrence  of  a  thin 
seam  of  lignite  close  to  Santa  Fe,  but  does  not  give  its  thickness  or 
its  relative  position  in  the  group,  but  we  did  not  meet  with  it  in  our 
examinations  in  this  vicinity. 

Lower  Carboniferous  Limestone  and  Siliceous  Shales.  —  No  outcrop  of 
limestone,  that  could  be  properly  referred  to  the  Carboniferous  period, 
was  seen  in  this  county ;  but  Mr.  ENGELMANN  describes  outcrops  of 
this  limestone  on  the  east  side  of  Mill  creek,  in  Pulaski  county,  and 
suggests  that  it  may  possibly  extend  further  west  into  the  northeast 
corner  of  Alexander.  Siliceous  shales,  probably  of  the  age  of  the 
Kinderhook  group,  occur  in  township  14,  range  1,  on  Grimes  creek, 
and  outcrops  are  noticed  by  Mr.  ENGELMANN  on  sections  6  and  7. 
These  siliceous  shales  are  associated  with  a  loose  chert,  that  has 
probably  been  derived  from  an  overlying  limestone,  the  calcareous 
portions  of  which  have  entirely  disappeared  by  decomposition,  under 
the  influence  of  atmospheric  agencies.  The  exposure  of  these  shales 
did  not  admit  of  an  accurate  measurement  at  any  of  the  outcrops 
that  were  seen. 


DEVONIAN. 


BLACK   SLATE,    HAMILTON   AND   CORNIFEBOUS   BEDS. 

The  Black  Slate  is  reported  by  Mr.  ENGELMANN  as  outcropping  on 
a  branch  of   Caney  creek,  in   the  eastern  part  of   section   17,  town- 
ship  14,  range  1  west,  the  slope  above  being  covered  with    siliceous 
shale  and  chert  of   the  lower   Carboniferous  series.     This   formation 
is  associated,  in  this  county,  with  some  cherty,  siliceous  limestones, 
which  pass  into  a  compact,  brittle   flint-rock,  that   probably   repre- 
sents the  Hamilton  and  Corniferous  beds,  if  they  are  represented  at 
all  in  this  county.     These  last  named   beds  are    quite  siliceous  and 
cherty   in   Union  county,  and   probably   thin  out    and   disappear  to 
the   southward,    becoming   more  and   more  siliceous  and   cherty   m 
that  direction;  for,  in  Tennessee,  north  of  Nashville,  where  we  have 
had  an  opportunity  of  examining  the  beds  at  this  horizon,  the  Black 
Slate  is  found  immediately  overlying   the  Upper  Silurian  limestone, 
with  no  indications  of  the  presence  of  the  intervening  limestones  of 
Devonian  age,  which    we  find  in  Illinois,  and  which   are  here  more 
than  300  feet  in  thickness. 


ALEXANDEK  COUNTY.  461 


ONONDAGA  GEOUP. 

Underlying  the  siliceous  rocks  above  described,  we  find  in  this 
county  some  striped  siliceous  shales,  which,  in  this  region,  are  known 
under  the  local  name  of  "Calico  rock,"  and  these  pass  downward 
into  a  white  quartzose  massive  sandstone,  sometimes  so  soft  and 
incoherent  in  its  structure  that  it  readily  crumbles  to  sand  under 
a  blow  of  the  hammer,  while  at  other  points  it  becomes  exceedingly 
hard,  and  partakes  of  the  characters  of  a  true  quartzite.  The 
entire  thickness  of  this  sandstone,  with  the  striped  shales  above  it, 
probably  will  not  exceed  an  average  of  fifty  feet.  The  sandstone  is 
locally  fossiliferous,  and  its  characteristic  species  in  Union  county, 
where  it  has  been  more  thoroughly  examined,  will  be  given  in  the 
report  on  that  county.  Mr.  ENGELMANN  estimates  the  thickness  of 
the  sandstone  at  not  more  than  thirty  feet,  and  it  is  seldom  that 
a  thickness  of  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  can  be  seen  at  a  single 
outcrop.  The  principal  exposures  of  this  sandstone  are  the  follow- 
ing :  On  the  head-waters^  of  South  Ripple  creek,  near  the  north 
line  of  section  8,  township  14,  range  2,  and  continuing  thence  south- 
ward to  the  hills  on  the  upper  course  of  Sexton  creek,  on  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  21,  and  the  northwest  of  section  20.  Its 
outcrop  also  continues  round  the  head  of  Sandy,  and  forms  a  part 
of  the  high  ridge  east  of  that  creek,  and  with  a  northeastward  dip 
it  descends  to  the  edge  of  the  flats  on  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  19,  township  14,  range  1  west,  and  then  disappears  below 
the  water  level.  Its  most  easterly  outcrops  are  the  one  last  men- 
tioned, and  one  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  same  section,  on 
the  Jonesboro  road,  between  Jackson  and  Caney  creeks,  on  section 
24,  and  the  southeast  corner  of  section  23,  township  14,  range  2, 
and  also  on  James  creek,  not  far  from  the  Union  county  line,  on 
section  2  of  same  township,  to  the  east  of  which  this  sandstone  dis- 
appears below  the  creek  level. 

The  overlying  siliceous  shales  are  also  but  seldom  well  exposed, 
but  were  seen  at  the  edge  of  the  flats  west  of  Caney  creek,  on  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  20,  township  14,  range  1  west,  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  steep  hills  on  the  east  side  of  the  Jonesboro  road, 
near  Caney  creek,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  18,  also  on 
the  northwest  quarter  of  the  same  section,  also  on  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  12,  in  township  14,  range  2  west,  and  on  the  hills 
north  of  Grimes  creek,  near  the  Union  county  line,  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  2,  in  the  same  township,  and  thence  descend- 


462  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

ing  eastward  along  the  creek  to  the  east  line  of  section  2,  and 
perhaps  even  to  section  6  of  the  adjoining  township  14,  range  1 
west.  From  thence  it  extends  westward,  probably  nearly  as  far  as 
the  sandstone,  but  the  outcrops  were  generally  hidden  in  the  slopes 
of  the  hills.  These  siliceous  shales  have  afforded  no  fossils,  as  yet, 
to  enable  us  to  determine  precisely  to  what  part  of  the  Devonian 
age  they  most  properly  belong,  but  their  immediate  connection  with 
the  sandstone,  which,  from  its  fossils,  appears  to  represent  the 
Onondaga  limestone,  has  induced  us  to  include  the  shales  also  in 
the  same  group.  The  out-crop  of  this  sandstone,  and  the  siliceous 
shales  associated  with  it,  cause  a  decided  change  in  the  topograph- 
ical features  of  the  country,  wherever  they  appear;  the  high  pre- 
cipitous hills,  formed  by  the  cherty  limestones  below,  disappear, 
and  the  country  becomes  comparatively  level,  and  better  adapted  to 
agricultural  purposes. 


OBISKANY   GROUP. 

• 

Clear  Creek  Limestone. — In  the  first  volume  of  the  original  report  on 
the  Geological  Survey  of  Illinois,  we  included,  under  this  name,  the 
great  mass  of  cherty  and  silico-magnesian  limestones,  which  were, 
found  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  State,  immediately  above  and 
resting  upon  strata  of  Lower  Silurian  age,  that  -were  referred  without 
hesitation  to  the  Cincinnati  group  of  our  general  section,  because 
we  were  unable  to  discover  any  decided  change  in  the  lithological 
characters  of  the  rock  that  would  enable  us  to  fix  with  certainty  a 
line  of  division  between  what  were  evidently  beds  of  distinct  geolog- 
ical age.  Subsequent  investigations,  and  a  more  complete  collection 
of  the  fossils  which  belonged  to  the  upper  and  lower  divisions  of 
the  mass,  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  upper  division  represented, 
at  least  m  part,  the  Oriskany  period,  and  the  lower,  the  Delthyris 
shale  beds  of  the  Lower  Helderberg  series  of  the  New  York  Geolo- 
gists. Hence,  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Illinois  Report  (see  Intro- 
duction, p.  viii.),  we  separated  the  beds  in  accordance  with  the 
palseontological  evidence,  although  still  unable  to  find  any  well 
marked  line  of  separation  on  lithological  grounds.  More  recently 
we  have  again  visited  Perry  county,  in  Missouri,  where  this  group 
is  well  exposed,  and  in  the  hills  to  the  southwest  of  Wittemberg 
we  found  a  bed  of  calcareous  shale,  only  a  few  feet,  apparently,  in 
thickness,  and  occupying  a  stratigraphical  position  about  midway 
in  this  group  of  cherty  limestones.  At  the  lower  terminus  of  the 


ALEXANDER   COUNTY.  463 

exposure  of  these  rocks,  below  Bailey's  landing,  where  they  consist 
only  of  the  lower  division  of  the  series,  we  also  observed  that  the 
limestones  were  succeeded  apparently  by  a  similar  shale,  in  loose 
masses,  strewn  along  the  shore  of  the  river,  immediately  below  the 
point  where  the  fossiliferous  beds-  of  limestone  dipped  below  the 
river  level.  This  bed  of  shale  did  not  appear  to  attain  a  thickness 
of  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  feet,  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  forms  the 
line  of  demarcation  between  the  Upper  Silurian  and  Devonian  strata. 

In  the  section  of  the  rocks  of  Alexander  county,  given  on  a  pre- 
ceding page,  we  have  included  the  cherty  limestones  above  this 
brown  shale  in  the  Devonian  series  under  the  name  of  Clear  creek 
limestone.  At  some  localities  it  is  quite  calcareous,  and  consists  of 
alternations  of  thin  bands  of  siliceous  limestone  and  chert,  passing 
locally  into  heavy  .beds  of  chert.  In  this  county  limestones  are  less 
abundant  in  this  group  than  in  the  counties  north  of  this,  and  it  is 
here  almost  entirely  made  up  of  chert  rock,  and  cherty  siliceous 
shales,  which  form,  by  decomposition,  a  white  plastic  clay,  locally 
known  as  "Chalk  Banks."  Its  maximum  thickness  in  this  portion 
of  the  State  may  be  estimated  at  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
but  no  locality  was  seen  in  this  county  where  it  could  be  accurately 
measured.  It  caps  the  river  bluffs  in  the  northwest  part  of  the 
county,  and  outcrops  over  the  northwestern  part  of  township  15 
south,  range  2  west,  the  eastern  part  of  sections  1,  12  and  13,  in 
range  3  west,  the  southwestern  part  of  township  14  south,  range  2 
west,  and  some  of  the  adjoining  portions  of  range  3  west.  The  region 
underlaid  by  this  formation  is  usually  very  broken  and  hilly,  and 
the  arable  land  is  restricted  mainly  to  the  valleys  of  the  streams. 
Its  outcrop  forms  steep  hills,  the  slopes  of  which  are  covered  with 
loose  masses  of  flint,  without  timber,  except  upon  the  summits,  and 
even  these  are  but  scantily  covered  with  a  scrubby  growth.  Very 
few  fossils  were  obtained  from  this  group 'in  this  county,  and  a  list 
of  its  most  characteristic  species  will  be  given  in  the  report  on  Union 
county,  from  which  most  of  the  species  have  been  obtained. 

Lower  Helderberg  Limestone.* — This  is  the  next  group  in  the  de- 
scending order,  and  commences,  as  already  observed,  with  a  few 
feet  of  brown  shale,  succeeded  by  thin  beds  of  siliceous  limestone, 
alternating  with  layers  of  chert.  The  chert  also  ramifies  through 
the  limestone  strata  in  bands  and  nodules.  Towards  the  base,  the 

*This  limestone  occupies  exactly  the  same  stratigraphical  position  as  the  Niagara  lime- 
stone in  other  portions  of  the  State,  as  well  as  in  Wayne  and  Decatur  counties,  in  Ten- 
nessee, and  a  different  designation  has  been  given  to  it  here,  from  the  specific  character 
of  its  fossils  solely. 


464  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

calcareous  matter  predominates,  and  we  find  some  heavy  beds  of 
mottled  limestone,  the  predominating  colors  being  brownish-red,  gray, 
and  buff.  At  the  base  of  the  upper  Silurian  formation  in  this  county, 
we  find  at  one  locality,  about  two  miles  above  Thebes,  a  coarse- 
grained, steel-gray  limestone,  from  three  to  four  feet  in  thickness, 
containing  the  peculiar  group  of  fossils  figured  on  plate  6,  of  this 
volume,  the  most  remarkable  of  which  is  the  fine  Trilobite,  the 
Dalmanites  Dante,  which  has  not  yet  been  identified  at  any  other 
locality  in  the  State.  The  species  figured  on  this  plate  are  associ- 
ated in  this  bed  with  globular  coral,  like  Heliolites,  a  Zaphrentis, 
and  some  other  undetermined  forms. 

These  Upper  Silurian  limestones  attain  a  thickness  of  about  250 
feet  in  this  county,  and  the  region  over  which  their  outcrop  extends 
differs  but  little  in  its  topographical  features  from  that  of  the  cherty 
limestones  of  Devonian  age  already  described.  Indeed,  the  upper 
portion  of  the  group  now  under  consideration  can  scarcely  be  dis- 
tinguished by  its  lithological  characters  from  the  cherty  beds  that 
overlie  it,  and  it  was  entirely  on  palseontological  evidence  that  we 
were  able  to  decide  that  the  one  was  Upper  Silurian  and  the  other 
Devonian.  Very  few  fossils  have  been  obtained  from  the  limestones 
in  this  county  except  from  the  bed  of  dark-gray  limestone  at  the 
base.  At  Mr.  W.  H.  Sanders'  place,  about  five  miles  north-north- 
east from  Thebes,  the  reddish-brown  limestones  at  the  base  of  the 
series  contained  Orthoceratites  in  abundance,  but  owing  to  the  hard- 
ness and  massive  structure  of  the  rock,  good  specimens  could  not 
be  readily  obtained. 

Most  of  the  fossils  characteristic  of  the  siliceous  limestones  of  this 
series  have  been  obtained  from  the  exposures  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  below  Bailey's  landing,  where  the  whole  series  of  strata 
pitches  below  the  water  level  in  a  distance  of  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  affording  such  an  opportunity  of  examining  the  different  layers 
as  we  have  found  nowhere  else.  The  species  obtained  from  this 
locality  are  the  following,  that  appear  to  be  identical  with,  or  closely 
allied  to,  species  that  are  considered  characteristic  of  the  Lower 
Helderberg  limestones  of  the  New  York  series :  Orthis  subcarinata, 
Cyrtina  Dalmani,  Trematospira  imbricata,  Spirifer  perlamellosus,  Acid- 
aspis  hamata,  Platyceras  spirale,  P.  pyramidal-urn,  etc. 

The  general  outcrop  of  these  Upper  Silurian  rocks  is  along  the 
Mississippi  bluffs,  and  forms  a  narrow  belt,  extending  eastward  from 
the  bluffs,  to  the  distance  of  from  one  to  three  miles.  They  also 
outcrop  along  the  range  of  inland  bluffs,  running  northeasterly  from 
Santa  Fe,  and  extend  nearly  to  the  point  where  they  bend  abruptly 


ALEXANDEK    COUNTY.  465 

to  the  northward,  on  section  28,  township  15  south,  range  2  west. 
The  cherty  portion  of  this  limestone  forms,  by  decomposition,  a  white 
chalky  clay  that  can  scarcely  be  distinguished  from  that  of  the 
Devonian  cherts,  one  of  which  was  seen,  according  to  Mr.  ENGEL- 
MANN,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  3,  township  16  south, 
range  3  west.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  conditions  under  which  these 
Upper  Silurian  and  Lower  Devonian  strata  were  deposited,  appear 
to  have  been  remarkably  uniform.  Scarcely  any  changes  can  be 
detected  in  the  lithological  characters  of  the  strata,  and  yet  we  find 
as  decided  changes  in  the  specific  characters  of  the  fauna  which 
characterize  the  upper  and  lower  divisions,  as  we  usually  find  in 
passing  from  one  geological  system  to  another.  I  know  of  no  sim- 
ilar example  in  the  palaeozoic  rocks  of  the  west,  where  so  complete 
a  change  has  taken  place  in  the  organic  life  which  characterizes  the 
different  geological  periods,  without  a  corresponding  change  in  the 
physical  conditions  under  which  the  enclosing  sediments  were  accu- 
mulated. 

Cincinnati  Group. — This  group  is  represented  in  this  county  by 
two  divisions,  the  upper  one  a  dark  blue  compact  limestone,  and 
the  lower  a  chocolate  colored  sandy  shale,  passing  downward  into  a 
brown  sandstone.  The  limestone  attains  a  thickness  of  about  forty 
feet,  and  has  a  partly  concretionary  structure,  which  gives  an  uneven 
surface  to  the  strata.  It  is  a  very  fine-grained  compact  rock,  break- 
ing with  a  conchoidal  fracture,  and  resembles  very  closely  the  "Glass 
.Rock"  of  the  lower  Trenton  beds  near  Galena.  The  layers  of  lime- 
stone are  separated  by  thin  partings  of  brown  shale,  in  which  the 
crinoidea,  .Crustacea,  and  other  fossils  of  this  group,  are  found  pre- 
served in  a  very  perfect  condition.  The  most  common  fossils  it 
affords  are  the  following :  Glyptocrinus  fiiribriatus,  G.  decadactylm, 
Tentaculites  incurvus,  T.  tenuistriata,  Asaphus  canalis,  Cyphaspis  Girar- 
deauensis,  Orthis  Missouriensis,  with  an  undetermined  species  of  Con- 
ularia,  Cyrtolites  imbricatus,  etc.  This  limestone  outcrops  on  a  branch 
of  Mill  creek,  about  three  miles  southeast  of  Thebes,  on  the  Unity 
road,  where  it  overlies  the  chocolate-colored  shale,  and  only  the  lower 
beds  of  the  limestone  are  seen.  On  Orchard  creek,  about  two  miles 
below  Thebes,  this  rock  is  well  exposed,  directly  on  the  road  from 
Thebes  to  Santa  Fe.  The  creek  falls  twenty-five  feet  over  this  lime- 
stone at  this  point,  affording  a  good  exposure  of  the  strata.  It  is 
quite  thin-bedded,  the  layers  varying  from  one  to  six  inches  in  thick- 
ness, and  are  somewhat  flinty.  At  this  point  the  shale  below  the 
limestone  is  not  exposed,  but  on  another  branch,  half  a  mile  below, 
—30 


466  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

there  is  an  exposure  of  forty  feet  of  the  shale  overlaid  by  the  lime- 
stone. One  mile  and  a-half  above  Thebes,  on  the  river  bank,  the 
shale  is  seen  overlaid  by  the  limestone,  and  dipping  to  the  north- 
ward. The  upper  layers  here  present  a  finely  brecciated  structure, 
and  are  overlaid  by  a  coarse-grained,  steel-gray  limestone  of  the 
Upper  Silurian  series.  Below  Thebes  no  trace  of  this  bed  was  seen, 
and  the  blue  limestone  was  succeeded  by  heavy  beds  of  mottled  red 
and  gray  limestone,  that  usually  form  the  base  of  the  Upper  Silu- 
rian system  in  this  portion  of  the  State.  The  blue  limestone  out- 
crops also  on  Sexton's  creek,  and  an  exposure  of  it  was  met  with  on 
the  road  from  Thebes  to  Jonesboro,  on  the  waters  of  Miller's  creek. 
All  the  outcrops  of  this  rock  met  with  in  this  county  are  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  river  bluffs. 

Thebes  Sandstone  and  Shale. — This  formation,  which  underlies  the 
limestone  above  described,  is  well  exposed  in  the  vicinity  of  Thebes, 
and  the  lower  portion  of  it  forms  the  sandstone  bluff  on  which  the 
old  court  house  was  built.  The  lower  portion  only  is  a  true  sand- 
stone, and  is  about  thirty  feet  in  thickness,  and  passes  upward  into 
a  sandy  shale  of  a  dark  brown  or  chocolate  color,  which  we  found 
exposed  two  and  a-half  miles  below  Thebes,  forty  feet  in  thickness. 
A  half  mile  below  Thebes  we  found  a  yellowish-brown  shale,  appa- 
rently not  above  five  of  six  feet  in  thickness,  that  evidently  formed 
the  base  of  this  group.  It  was  filled  with  fragments  of  Trilobites, 
apparently  belonging  to  A  saphus  canalis,  which,  with  a  Lingula  found 
in  the  upper  shale  immediately  below  the  limestone,  are  the  only 
fossils  it  has  afforded.  The  thickness  of  this  lower  division  of  the 
group  may  be  estimated  at  about  seventy-five  feet,  about  twenty-five 
of  which  is  in  sufficiently  thick  beds  to  be  used  for  building  stone 
and  for  flags.  Some  of  the  sandstone  layers  are  from  two  to  three 
feet  in  thickness,  and  are  well  adapted  for  foundation  walls,  culverts, 
etc.,  and  it  has  been  extensively  quarried  at  this  point  and  transported 
to  Cairo  for. building  purposes.  The  only  outcrop  seen  of  the  beds 
that  are  adapted  to  building  purposes,  is  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  town  of  Thebes,  and  as  they  dip  in  opposite  directions  over 
the  underlying  Trenton  limestone,  which  forms  the  centre  of  an 
anticlinical  axis  just,  below  Thebes,  they  soon  pass  below  the  water 
level  in  each  direction.  The  shaly  upper  portion,  however,  outcrops 
for  a  distance  of  about  six  miles  from  north  to  south,  commencing 
about  one  mile  above  Santa  Fe,  and  extending  to  section  27,  town- 
ship 14  south,  range  3  west,  and  forms  a  narrow  belt,  nowhere 
exceeding  a  mile  in  width. 


ALEXANDEB    COUNTY.  467 

Trenton  Limestone. — This  is  the  oldest  formation  known  in  South- 
ern Illinois,  and  its  only  outcrop  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi, 
in  this  county,  is  just  below  Thebes,  where  it  forms  the  obstruction 
to  river  navigation  known  as  the  "Grand  Chain."  It  projects  across 
the  river  in  a  narrow  belt,  forming  the  center  of  an  axis  which 
elevates  the  limestone  to  the  height  of  about  seventy  feet  above  the 
low-water  level  of  the  river.  The  whole  thickness  of  the  group  is 
much  greater  where  fully  exposed  on  the  Missouri  shore,  but  only 
the  upper  part  of  the  mass  is  elevated  above  the  river  level  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  river,  and  its  outcrop  scarcely  exceeds  a  half 
mile  in  width,  by  about  two  miles  in  length,  along  the  river  shore 
at  the  lowest  stage  of  water.  It  is  a  light  gray  or  bluish-white 
crystalline  limestone,  in  heavy  beds,  generally  free  from  siliceous 
matter,  cuts  readily,  and  is  susceptible  of  a  high  polish,  and  is 
adapted  to  general  use  as  a  very  fine  building  stone  or  marble.  It 
has  been  extensively  quarried  for  many  years  in  the  vicinity  of 
Cape  Girardeau,  in  Missouri,  and  has  become  favorably  known  on 
the  lower  Mississippi,  as  the  "Cape  Girardeau  marble"  It  also 
makes  a  very  fine  white  lime,  and  is  extensively  quarried  on  the 
Missouri  shore  for  this  purpose.  An  analysis*  of  this  limestone  from 
Cape  Girardeau,  by  Dr.  A.  Litton,  of  St.  Louis,  gave  99.57  per  cent, 
of  carbonate  of  lime,  which  is  a  remarkable  degree  of  purity  for  an 
unaltered  limestone.  The  upper  portion  of  the  bed,  which  is  the 
part  best  exposed  in  Illinois,  is  that  from  which  the  finest  building 
stone  is  obtained  in  Missouri.  The  center  of  the  axis  which  has 
elevated  these  lower  Silurian  strata  above  the  surface  in  this 
county,  is  about  a  mile  below  Thebes,  and  over  this  nucleus  the 
overlying  beds  bend  in  a  saddle-shaped  form,  with  a  rapid  dip  in 
opposite  directions.  The  principal  fossils  afforded  by  the  Trenton 
beds  in  this  county  are,  Receptaculites  Oiveni,  Strophomena  alternata, 
Orthis  lynx,  Rhynchonella  capax,  Illenus  crassicauda,  Lichas  cucullus, 
Comarocystites  Shumardi,  and  a  large  bivalve  shell  like  Cypricardites, 
and  fragments  of  Orthoceratites.  The  granular  character  of  this  rock 
is  not  favorable  to  the  preservation  of  delicate  organic  forms,  and 
consequently  the  embedded  fossils  are  not  obtained  in  as  good  con- 
dition in  this  locality  as  they  often  are  where  the  limestones  are 
more  argillaceous,  and  the  strata  separated  by  partings  of  shaly 
material.  In  the  bed  of  the  river  just  below  the  town  of  Thebes, 
there  are  some  beds  exposed  which  appear  to  contain  considerable 

*See  Dr.  Shumard's  Report  on  the  Mississippi  river  section  in  the  Missouri  Report, 
page  155. 


468  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

siliceous  matter  in  the  form  of  chert,  and  also  nodules  of  a  black 
bituminous  substance,  which  ignites  when  heated,  and  burns  to 
ashes.  As  this  is  the  most  southerly  point  on  the  Mississippi  where 
good  building  stone,  or  limestone  suitable  for  lime,  can  be  obtained, 
these  outcrops  must  eventually  become  valuable  as  a  source  of  sup- 
ply to  the  country  bordering  the  Mississippi  below  Cairo,  as  well  as 
for  the  building  up  of  that  city. 

Before  closing  our  descriptions  of  the  rocks  of  this  county,  we  will 
mention  a  bed  of  very  hard  quartzite  that  we  found  in  the  hills 
some  two  miles  back  of  Santa  Fe.  Only  a  single  exposure  of  the 
rock  was  seen,  not  above  ten  feet  in  thickness,  and  having  appar- 
ently a  gentle  dip  to  the  northward.  No  other  beds  were  seen  in 
connection  with  it  that  would  give  any  clue  to  its  probable  age,  but 
from  its  color,  texlure  and  general  appearance,  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  it  is  a  portion  of  the  Thebes  sandstone  which  has  un- 
dergone metamorphism  at  this  locality,  though  it  presents  no  signs 
of  metamorphic  action  at  any  other  locality  where  we  have  seen  it 
exposed.  In  the  hillsides  above  this  outcrop  we  found  an  exposure 
of  a  few  feet  of  soft  quartzose  sandstone  belonging  to  the  Tertiary  beds 
of  this  region,  but  this  did  not  appear  to  correspond  exactly  in  dip 
or  lithological  appearance  with  the  quartzites  below.  This  outcrop 
of  quartzite  appeared  to  be  exactly  on  the  trend  of  the  axis  by  which 
the  Lower  Silurian  beds  are  elevated  above  the  surface  in  this 
county.  One  of  the  specimens  of  quartzite  obtained  here  contains 
some  small  pebbles  of  quartz,  and  as  none  were  seen  in  the  Thebes 
sandstone,  while  they  were  observed  in  the  Tertiary  sandstone  of 
this  vicinity,  it  may  be  that  these  altered  strata  belong  to  the 
newer,  rather  than  the  older  sandstones,  and  if  so,  we  have  the 
curious  anomaly  of  metamorphic  strata  of  Tertiary  age  overlying 
beds  of  Silurian  limestone  that  are  unaltered  at  their  nearest  out- 
crop. 

Economical  Geology. 

Metallic  Ores. — No  considerable  quantity  of  metallic  ores  have  been 
found  in  this  county,  nor  any  indications  seen  that  would  lead  to 
the  conclusion  that  such  deposits  will  be  discovered  hereafter.  A 
small  amount  of  galena  has  been  found  in  the  cherty  limestones 
of  the  Oriskany  group,  but  in  too  small  quantities  to  be  of  any 
economical  importance.  Brown  hematites,  or  the  hydrous  oxide  of 
iron,  also  occurs  in  small  quantities,  especially  in  the  ferruginous 
conglomerate  of  the  Tertiary,  but  the  siliceous  pebbles  which  con- 


ALEXANDER   COUNTY.  469 

stitute  the  greatest  portion  of » the  mass,  renders  it  worthless  as  an 
iron  ore.  The  seams  of  smut  and  lignite  in  the  Tertiary  also  excite 
expectations  of  finding  valuable  deposits  of  coal,  but  no  sucJa  deposits 
exist  in  the  county,  and  time  and  money  spent  in  search  of  coal  in 
this  region  will  be  spent  in  vain. 

Building  Stone  and  Marble. — Alexander  county  has  an  abundant 
supply  of  superior  building  stone,  and  when  the  quarries  are  prop- 
erly opened,  and  the  amount  and  quality  of  the  material  they  will 
afford  is  better  known,  this  will  prove  a  very  important  branch  of 
industry  to  the  county.  First  in  importance,  perhaps,  not  only  from 
the  thickness  of  the  formation,  and  consequently  the  large  amount 
of  material  it  will  afford,  is  the  Trenton  limestone,  the  principal 
outcrop  of  which  is  in  the  river  bluff  just  below  Thebes.  This  form- 
ation is  about  seventy  feet  in  thickness  above  the  low-water  level  of 
the  river,  and  consists  of  white  and  bluish-gray  limestones,  partly 
in  heavy  beds  of  from  two  to  three  feet  in  thickness.  It  is  gener- 
ally free  from  siliceous  or  ferruginous  matter,  can  be  easily  cut 
into  any  desired  form,  and  is  susceptible  of  a  high  polish,  and  is 
adapted  to  various  uses  as  a  marble.  It  has  been  extensively  quar- 
ried at  Cape  Girardeau  since  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  country, 
both  for  lime  and  for  the  various  purposes  for  which  a  fine  building 
stone  was  required,  and  is  already  well  known  and  highly  appreci- 
ated as  the  "Cape  Girardeau  marble"  along  -the  whole  course  of  the 
lower  Mississippi.  For  the  construction  of  fine  buildings,  and  the 
display  of  elaborate  architectural  designs,  this  rock  has  no  superior 
in  this  portion  of  the  State. 

The  mottled  beds  of  the  Upper  Silurian  series  consist  of  hard 
compact  limestone,  and  are  susceptible  of  a  very  fine  polish,  and 
make  a  very  beautiful  marble.  The  prevailing  colors  are  red,  buff, 
and  gray,  varying  somewhat  at  different  localities.  The  rock  is 
somewhat  siliceous,  and  consequently  harder  to  work  than  the  white 
limestone  of  the  Trenton  group,  but  it  will  no  doubt  retain  a  fine 
polish  much  longer  than  a  softer  material,  and  the  variety  of  colors 
which  it  affords  renders  it  well  adapted  to  many  uses  as  an  orna- 
mental stone,  for  which  the  other  would  not  be  required.  These 
mottled  layers  vary  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness,  and  can 
be  most  economically  quarried  where  the  overlying  strata  have  been 
removed  by  erosion.  For  table  tops,  mantles,  etc.,  this  is  one  of 
the  handsomest  rocks  at  present  known  in  the  State. 

The  Thebes  Sandstone  affords  an  excellent  dimension  stone,  and 
material  adapted  to  the  construction  of  foundation  walls,  culverts, 
etc.  It  dresses  well  and  is  durable,  but  it  would  hardly  be  selected 


470  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

by  the  architect  when  in  competition  "with  the  more  beautiful  ma- 
terial from  the  Trenton  group.  Some  of  the  beds  are  of  suitable 
thickness,  and  make  good  flagstones.  All  these  beds  outcrop  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  uninterrupted  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  con- 
sequently can  be  made  available  at  a  moderate  cost  to  all  the  lower 
country  bordering  on  the  river  that  is  destitute  of  such  material, 
which  is  the  case  with  the  whole  region  from  Cairo  to  New  Orleans. 
This  consideration  alone  adds  much  to  the  value  of  these  southern 
outcrops  of  building  stone,  and  will  surely  lead,  ere  long,  to  their 
thorough  development. 

Clay  and  Sand. — These  materials  are  abundant,  and  of  varieties 
suited  to  the  various  economical  uses  to  which  they  are  usually 
applied.  The  clays  of  the  Tertiary  formation  are  valuable  for  the 
manufacture  of  potter's  ware,  and  one  variety  has  been  in  use  at 
Santa  Fe  for  some  years,  and  produces  a  ware  of  excellent  quality. 
That  principally  used  at  Santa  Fe,  in  the  manufactory  of  Mr. 
Charles  Kock,  is  of  a  gray  color,  and  is  sufficiently  mixed  with  sand 
to  be  used  without  any  further  addition  of  that  material.  Before 
burning,  the  ware  receives  an  outside  washing  of  the  white  clay 
found  near  by,  to  improve  its  color,  and  an  inside  wash  of  Missis- 
sippi river  mud,  to  improve  the  glazing.  The  white  clays  of  this 
vicinity  appear  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  ordinary 
white  ware,  but  have  not  been  thoroughly  tested.  The  white  clays 
resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  the  siliceous  beds  of  the  Devo- 
nian series  seem  also  to  be  suitable  for  the  same  purpose.  Sand 
abounds  in  the  Tertiary  beds  of  this  region,  and  also  more  abund- 
antly in  the  alluvial  beds  of  the  creek  and  river  bottoms.  The 
Devonian  sandstone,  common  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  county, 
is  often  quite  pure  and  free  from  coloring  matter,  and  is  well 
adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  glass.  Although  not  in  close  prox- 
imity to  the  coal  beds,  yet  the  facilities  afforded  by  the  Illinois 
Central  Kailroad  would  secure  the  required  fuel  from  DuQuoin  or 
Murphysboro  at  a  very  reasonable  cost. 

Road  Material. — An  inexhaustible  amount  of  the  very  best  material 
for  the  construction  of  turnpike  or  common  roads  abounds  on  all 
the  water-courses  that  intersect  the  uplands  of  this  county,  and  is 
derived  from  the  cherty  limestones  of  the  Upper  Silurian  and  Devo- 
nian age.  It  consists  of  a  brown  flint  or  chert,  finely  broken  for 
use,  and  occurs  abundantly,  filling  the  valleys  of  the  small  streams 
that  intersect  the  limestones  above  named.  This  flint  has  been  used 
at  St.  Louis  for  the  manufacture  of  "concrete  stone,"  and  has  been 
found  fully  equal  to  the  best  English  flint  for  this  purpose.  The 


ALEXANDER  COUNTY.  471 

material  with  which  this  experiment  was  made  was  obtained  in  Union 
county,  but  it  differs  in  no  way  from  the  flint  so  abundant  in  this 
county,  and  is  derived  from  the  same  beds. 

Agricultural  Resources. — As  we  have  already  observed,  the  uplands 
of  this  county  are  generally  broken  into  steep  hills  or  ridges,  and 
the  arable  land  is  mainly  confined  to  the  alluvial  lands  of  the  rivers 
and  smaller  streams.  There  is,  however,  a  small  area  in  the  north- 
east part  of  the  county  that  is  underlaid  by  the  Devonian  sandstone, 
and  the  striped  shales  associated  with  it,  where  the  surface  is  not 
so  abruptly  broken,  and  affords  some  good  farming  lands.  The  soil 
is  mostly  a  yellow  clay.  The  uplands  are  covered  with  timber, 
where  the  surface  is  not  too  rocky,  consisting  of  black  and  white 
oak,  hickory,  beach,  yellow  poplar,  or  tulip  tree,  etc. 

On  Sexton's  creek  the  bottom  is  narrow  along  its  upper  course, 
and  is  heavily  timbered  with  walnut,  maple,  beech,  oak,  etc.,  until 
it  leaves  the  cherty  limestones,  and  in  range  3  the  bottoms  become 
wider,  averaging  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width.  On  Miller's 
fork,  east  of  Thebes,  the  arable  land  begins  at  the  foot  of  the  breaks 
on  the  outcrops  of  Upper  Silurian  limestone,  but  is  too  narrow  for 
cultivation  down  to  section  14,  where  it  widens  for  a  mile  or  more, 
and  then  becomes  low  and  wet,  and  so  continues  to  its  outlet  into 
the  Mississippi.  Mill  creek  bottom,  south  of  the  Union  county  line, 
averages  about  a  half  a  mile  in  width,  and  has  fine  sloping  lands 
on  either  side,  which  are  heavily  timbered.  Below  the  last  bluff  on 
the  creek,  east  of  Ullin,  the  bottom  is  very  heavily  timbered  with 
swamp  white  oak  and  yellow  poplar,  many  of  the  trees  reaching  a 
diameter  of  from  four  to  six  feet.  The  branches  of  Caney  creek,  in 
the  northeast  part  of  the  county,  where  they  traverse  the  outcrops 
of  the  Devonian  slates,  have  fine  arable  bottoms  and  slopes.  On 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  18,  township  14,  range  1,  the  creek 
bottom  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  and  below  this  it  be- 
comes gradually  wider  until  it  joins  the  flats  of  Mill  creek. 

From  these  topographical  features  it  will  be  seen  that  the  amount 
of  arable  land  in  this  county  is  limited,  and  restricted  to  the  higher 
portions  of  the  river  bottoms,  and  the  narrow  valleys  of  the  small 
streams.  But  wherever  these  bottom  lands  are  dry  enough  to  admit 
of  cultivation,  they  are  very  productive,  having  a  light,  warm,  sandy 
soil,  that  yields  large  crops  of  corn,  cotton,  tobacco,  and  most  other 
products  suited  to  the  climate.  Small  fruits  and  peaches  will  also 
do  well  on  the  dryest  bottom  lands,  and  grapes,  apples,  pears,  etc., 
may  be  successfully  cultivated  on  such  of  the  highlands  as  are  not 
too  steep  for  cultivation.  The  advantages  of  climate  in  this  extreme 


472  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

southern  portion  of  the  State,  which  enables  the  fruit-grower  to  put 
his  fruit  in  market  in  advance  of  that  raised  in  any  other  section 
north  of  the  Ohio,  will  always  make  this  a  desirable  region  for  the 
cultivation  of  such  fruits  as  are  most  desirable  for  the  early  mar- 
kets. 

These  rich  bottom  lands  are  equally  desirable  for  the  market  gar- 
dener, and  Cairo,  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  could  be  supplied  with 
early  vegetables  from  this  portion  of  the  State  several  weeks  earlier 
than  from  Central  Illinois. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


UNION  COUNTY. 


Union  county  is  situated  immediately  north  of  Alexander,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Jackson  and  Williamson  counties,  on  the 
east  by  Johnson  county,  on  the  south  side  by  Alexander  and  Pulaski 
counties,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Mississippi  river.  It  embraces  the 
western  end  of  the  summit  or  dividing  ridge  which  crosses  Southern 
Illinois  from  Bald  Eock,  on  the  Big  Muddy,  to  the  mouth  of  Saline 
river,  on  the  Ohio,  and  contains  an  area  of  little  more  than  eleven 
townships,  or  about  400  square  miles,  of  which  about  one-fifth  is 
bottom  and  the  remainder  upland.  It  is  for  the  most  part  heavily 
timbered,  except  on  some  of  the  most  rocky  hills  and  ridges.  It 
comprises  one  of  the  best  timbered  districts  of  the  State,  and 
although  very  broken  and  hilly  along  its  western  borders,  presenting 
a  topography  quite  unlike  the  central  and  northern  portions  of  the 
State,  it  nevertheless  has  a  large  proportion  of  excellent  soil,  well 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  corn,  cotton,  tobacco  and  all  varieties  of 
fruit  adapted  to  the  climate. 

The  surface  configuration  of  the  different  portions  of  the  county 
is  mainly  dependent  on  the  character  of  the  underlying  strata,  and 
the  amount  of  disturbance  to  which  the  rocks  have  been  subjected. 
The  general  trend  of  the  line  of  uplift  in  this  county  is  from  north- 
west to  southeast,  and  the  dip,  with  some  local  variations,  is  to  the 
northeastward.  Hence  the  escarpments  on  the  south  and  west  sides 
of  the  ridges  are  steeper  and  more  rugged  than  those  to  the  north 
and  east.  The  river  bluffs  are  high  and  rocky,  and  are  frequently 
cut  up  into  rugged  declivities  and  sharp  summits,  and  are  formed 
by  the  cherty  limestones  of  upper  Silurian  and  Devonian  age,  which 


474  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

constitute  the  more  southern  extension  of  the  same  bluffs  into  Alex- 
ander county.  In  the  northeastern  portion  of  the  county  we  find 
the  sandstone  ridge  already  alluded  to,  which  forms  the  water  shed 
between  the  streams  running  northward  into  the  Big  Muddy,  and 
those  running  south  into  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio.  This  ridge 
presents  a  perpendicular  escarpment  on  its  southern  face,  similar  to 
the  bluffs  of  our  large  rivers,  although  its  course  is  nearly  at  right 
angles  to  the  present  water  courses.  Its  summit  is  formed  by  the 
Conglomerate  sandstone,  and  its  base  by  the  lower  Carboniferous 
limestones  and  sandstones  of  the  Chester  group.  South  of  this  chain 
of  bluffs,  and  extending  along  the  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  Kail- 
road  from  Cobden  to  the  south  line  of  the  county,  there  is  a  broad 
belt  of  country  underlaid  by  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestones,  in 
which  the  ridges  are  less  abrupt,  and  the  surface  so  gently  rolling 
as  to  be  susceptible  of  the  highest  cultivation. 

The  country  north  of  this  sandstone  ridge  is  also  underlaid  by  the 
Conglomerate  sandstone,  and  is  generally  broken  and  hilly.  The 
creeks  run  in  narrow  gorges,  with  scarcely  any  breadth  of  bottom 
land,  but  the  ridges,  unlike  those  formed  by  the  cherty  limestones, 
are  susceptible  of  cultivation,  and  are  heavily  timbered.  These  ridges 
are  now  regarded  as  the  best  fruit  lands  in  the  county,  and  com- 
mand a  higher  price  than  the  more  gently  rolling  slopes  of  the  lime- 
stone region  further  south. 

The  river  bluffs  in  the  northwest  township  in  this  county  are  known 
as  the  "Pine  Hills,"  and  are  exceedingly  rugged.  These  bluffs  form 
ridges  from  four  to  five  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  so  sharp  that 
on  their  summits  there  is  scarcely  breadth  enough  for  a  road,  while 
the  slopes  are  very  precipitous,  and  in  places  rocky.  On  the  sum- 
mit there  are  a  few  stunted  pine  trees,  growing  on  cliffs  of  nearly 
naked  chert  rock,  but  where  the  soil  is  better,  these  ridges  sustain 
a  growth  of  black  and  white  oak,  hickory,  black  gum,  yellow  poplar, 
etc.  Back  of  the  river  bluffs  there  are  a  series  of  similar  ridges, 
covering  all  the  western  portion  of  township  11  south,  range  3  west, 
and  the  southwestern  part  of  township  11,  range  2  west.  In  this 
portion  of  the  county  the  ridges  are  too  much  broken  for  cultivation, 
and  the  farms  are  restricted  to  the  creek  bottoms  and  the  more 
gentle  slopes  of  the  hillsides. 

The  soil  and  timber  of  the  uplands  in  this  county,  except  in  the 
very  broken  region  above  mentioned,  present  a  general  uniformity 
of  character.  The  soil  is  a  light-brown  clay  loam,  with  a  subsoil 
of  similar  character,  and  was  originally  covered  with  a  magnificent 
growth  of  white,  red  and  black  oak,  pignut,  scaly-bark  and  barren 


UNION   COUNTY.  475 

hickory,  yellow  poplar  (tulip  tree),  black  gum,  beech,  black  walnut, 
sugar  maple,  etc.  The  post  oak,  which  is  the  prevailing  timber  in 
some  portions  of  Southern  Illinois,  was  seen  but  rarely  here  along 
the  north  line  of  the  county,  and  the  barren  oak  was  also  occasion- 
ally met  with  on  the  ridges  underlaid  by  the  Chester  sandstone  north 
of  Cypress  creek. 

The  bottom  lands  of  this  county  comprise  a  belt  of  about  four 
miles  in  width  along  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  extend- 
ing to  the  river  bluffs.  These  lands,  where  they  are  not  too  wet  to 
admit  of  cultivation,  are  exceedingly  fertile,  and  are  the  best  corn 
lands  in  the  county.  The  growth  of  timber  on  the  bottom  lands  is 
even  heavier  than  upon  the  uplands,  and  comprises  several  varieties 
of  oak,  among  which  are  blue-bark  oak,  scarlet  oak,  bur  oak  and 
swamp  white  oak,  that  are  not  met  with  on  the  uplands ;  also,  syca- 
more, horn-beam,  elm,  cottonwood,  bald  cypress,  tupelo  gum,  white 
maple,  willow,  ash,  hackberry,  pecan,  persimmon,  red  birch,  paw- 
paw, etc.  A  good  deal  of  this  bottom  land  is  too  wet  for  cultivation, 
and  is  covered  with  water,  forming  ponds,  sloughs,  etc. 

Geology. — The  geological  structure  of  this  county  comprises  a  wide 
range  of  formation,  extending  from  the  base  of  the  Upper  Silurian 
to  the  top  of  the  Conglomerate  sandstone  of  the  Coal  Measures, 
through  a  vertical  range  of  about  2,000  feet  of  strata.  The  follow- 
ing section  will  serve  to  illlustrate  the  thickness  and  relative  posi- 
tion of  the  palaeozoic  rocks  of  this  county. 

In  addition  to  the  rocks  represented  in  this  section,  there  are  the 
recent  deposits  of  alluvium  which  form  the  bottom  lands,  and  the 
beds  of  marly  clay,  sand,  etc.,  occurring  in  the  creek  valleys,  which 
may  be  referred,  most  properly,  to  the  Loess,  and  the  brown  clays 
which  overlie  the  older  rocks  on  the  uplands,  all  belonging  to  the 
Quaternary  system. 


476 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


Section  of  the  Rocks  in  Union  County. 


200  feet. 


800  feet. 


200  to  250  feet. 


80  to  100  feet. 


40  to  60  feet. 


60  feet. 


25  feet. 


20  to  30  feet. 


40  to  60  feet. 


200  to  250  feet. 


250  feet. 


Conglomerate  sandstone.  Massive  Quartzose  sandstone  with 
siliceous  pebbles,  passing  into  more  finely  grained  and  thin 
bedded  brown  sandstone. 


Chester  group  of  the  Lower  Carboniferous  series,  consisting  of 
alternations  of  dark  gray  argillaceous  and  ferruginous  lime- 
stones, alternating  with  brown  sandstones,  in  regular  beds,  and 
argillaceous  and  sandy  shales,  the  latter  inclosing  locally  a  thin 
seam  of  coal.  The  limestones  are  often  bituminous,  and  emit  a 
fetid  odor  when  struck  with  a  hammer. 


St.  Louis  Group:  Compact  gray  limestones,  partly  light-colored 
and  oolitic  in  texture,  and  sometimes  dark-blue  and  cherty. 

/ 
Kinderhook  Group;  Siliceous  shales  and  chert. 

Black  slate,  and  blue  and  green  shales. 

Hamilton  Group:  Gray  limestone  and  brown  calc.  shales. 

Dark  fetid  limestone.    Corniferous. 

Onondaga  limestone:  Light  gray  massive  siliceous  limestone. 

Quartzose  sandstones  and  striped  siliceous  shales. 


Clear  creek  limestones  of  the  Oriskany  period,  consisting  of  light 
gray  thin-bedded  limestones,  alternating  with  layers  of  chert, 
passing  locally  into  an  irregularly  bedded  chert  rock. 

Band  of  brown  arenaceous  shale. 


Lower  Helderberg  limestones:  Arenaceous  and  magnesian  lime- 
stones, in  thin  beds,  alternating  with  chert,  and  at  the  base 
passing  into  a  mottled,  siliceous  limestone  in  heavier  beds. 


Cincinnati  Group? 


UNION   COUNTY.  477 

Lower  Helderberg  Limestones. — This  formation  is  similar  in  its  ap- 
pearance here  to  the  outcrops  of  it  already  described  in  the  fore- 
going report  on  Alexander  county,  and  it  may  be  described  as  a 
thinly-bedded,  grayish-colored,  close-textured,  siliceous  and  cherty 
limestone,  sometimes  argillaceous  and  shaly,  and,  again,  so  flinty 
that  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  flint  or  the  limestone  predom- 
inates. Hence,  it  is  so  intimately  related  to  the  cherty  Devonian 
limestone  which  overlies  it  in  this  region,  that  it  is  difficult  to  say, 
when  no  fossils  are  found,  to  which  bed  an  outcrop  belongs.  This 
limestone  forms  the  base  of  the  river  bluffs  throughout  the  county, 
except  for  a  short  distance,  where  the  Jonesboro  and  Cape  Girardeau 
road  intersects  the  bluff,  four  miles  west  of  Jonesboro.  Here,  by 
the  down-throw  of  the  strata,  the  result,  probably,  of  a  fault,  we 
find  the  quartzose  sandstone  of  the  Devonian,  extending  down  to 
the  creek  level,  and  overlaid  by  the  massive  beds  of  Onondaga  lime- 
stone. For  several  miles  in  this  vicinity,  and  mostly  through  town- 
ship 12,  the  bluffs  are  composed  of  the  cherty  limestones  of  the 
Oriskany  group,  but  in  township  11,  range  3  west,  and  in  township 
13,  range  2,  the  base  of  the  bluffs  consist  of  the  lower  Helderberg 
limestones,  and  the  upper  part  of  the  cherty  Devonian  limestones, 
often  capped  with  the  sandstone.  Beyond  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  river  bluffs  they  do  not  appear  in  this  county.  Along  the  bluffs 
these  beds  form  bold  and  picturesque  cliffs,  that  present  a  peculiar 
wall-like  appearance,  from  the  uniform  thinness  of  the  strata,  and 
are  seen  to  the  best  advantage  in  the  smooth  vertical  cliffs,  and 
turreted  projecting  ledges  that  are  frequent  along  the  outcrops  of 
this  formation.  No  fossils  have  been  obtained  from  this  bed  in 
Union  county,  but  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  just  below 
Bailey's  Landing,  where  the  beds  are  much  better  exposed,  the  fol- 
lowing species  have  been  obtained :  Orthis  subcarinata,  O.  hybrida, 
or  O.  oblata,  a  Ccelospira,  scarcely  distinguishable  from  C.  concava,  C. 
imbricata,  Spirifer  perlamellosus,  and  Acidaspis  hamata.  These  were 
associated  with  forms  closely  resembling,  if  not  identical  with,  Merista 
Icevis,  Platyceras  pyramidatum,  P.  unguiforme,  P.  incite,  and  P.  multi- 
striatum.  As  these  are  all  species  common  in  the  lower  Helderberg 
limestones  of  New  York,  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  these 
beds  may  be  properly  referred  to  the  same  horizon,  and  are  the 
western  representatives  of  that  group. 

Seven  miles  southwest  of   Jonesboro,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  9,  township  13,  range  2,  near  the   Cape  Girardeau  road,   we 


478  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

observed  a  bed  of  limestone,  of  which  about  twenty-five  feet  in  thick- 
ness was  exposed,  that  exactly  resembled  the  glass-rock  of  the  Trenton 
series  in  Northern  Illinois.  From  its  lithological  characters  alone, 
we  should  not  hesitate  to  place  this  rock  in  the  lower  Silurian  series, 
and  to  regard  it  as  the  equivalent  of  the  compact  siliceous  limestone 
that  forms  the  upper  member  of  the  Cincinnati  group,  in  Alexander 
county,  but  as  we  failed  to  find  any  fossils  in  it  that  would  enable 
us  to  decide  positively  as  to  its  age,  it  may  be  possible  that  it  is  an 
intercalated  bed  of  the  upper  Silurian  series.  However,  we  place  it 
at  the  bottom  of  the  section,  with  a  query,  until  further  examina- 
tions can  be  made.  I  find  no  mention  of  this  outcrop  in  Mr.  ENGEL- 
MANN'S  notes,  or  any  intimations  that  a  similar  rock  was  met  with 
in  the  upper  Silurian  limestones  of  this  county. 

From  Wolf  lake  to  the  north  line  of  the  county,  the  upper  Silurian 
limestones  form  the  entire  bluff,  often  reaching  a  height  of  200  feet 
or  more,  in  smooth,  vertical  faces  or  turreted  walls.  Fine  springs 
of  beautifully  limpid  water  issue  from  the  base  of  these  bluffs  at 
numerous  points.  Near  the  head  of  Wolf  lake,  and  not  far  from  the 
northwest  corner  of  section  22,  township  11,  range  3  west,  is  one  of 
the  highest  points  in  this  part  of  the  county;  the  lower  limestone 
reaches  an  elevation  of  200  feet  above  the  Mississippi  bottoms,  and 
is  capped  by  100  feet  of  the  rough  chert  rock  of  the  Oriskany  group, 
which  stand  out  in  bold  relief,  with  a  strong  easterly  dip.  These 
bluffs  continue  southward,  along  the  eastern  borders  of  Wolf  lake,  to 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  3,  township  12,  range  3,  where,  in 
consequence  of  the  easterly  trend  of  the  bluffs,  or  perhaps  a  break 
in  the  strata,  these  limestones  disappear,  and  the  bluffs  are  formed 
by  the  Devonian  beds.  Following  down  the  river  bluffs  a  distance  of 
about  eight  miles  by  the  section  lines,  this  limestone  again  appears, 
near  the  north  line  of  section  9,  township  13,  range  2,  and  from  this 
point  they  continue  to  form  the  main  portion  of  the  bluffs  to  the 
Alexander  county  line. 

Clear  Creek  Limestone. — This  cherty  limestone,  or  chert  formation, 
as  it  might  very  properly  be  called,  occupies  the  upper  portion  of 
the  river  bluffs  in  township  13  south,  range  2  west,  and  township  11 
south,  range  3  west,  where  the  upper  Silurian  limestones  form  the 
lower  part,  and  in  township  12  south,  ranges  2  and  3  west,  where 
these  Silurian  rocks  are  below  the  surface,  the  bluffs  are  composed 
mainly  of  this  cherty  rock  and  the  overlying  Devonian  beds.  This 
formation  forms  an  irregular  belt  of  outcrop  along  the  line  of  river 


UNION    COUNTY.  479 

bluffs,  ranging  from  two  to  six  miles  in  width.  This  belt  is  nar. 
rowest  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  county,  becomes  gradually 
wider  in  township  12,  range  2  west,  and  attains  its  maximum  width 
in  the  south  part  of  township  11,  ranges  2  and  3  west,  and  from 
this  point  gradually  becomes  narrower  to  the  north  line  of  the  county. 
Its  greatest  development  is  on  the  upper  course  of  Clear  creek,  and 
on  Higgins  creek,  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  county.  It  also 
outcrops  on  all  the  forks  of  Caney  creek,  in  the  central  part  of  town- 
ship 12  south,  range  2  west,  and  south  of  this  its  outcrop  is  restricted 
to  a  narrow  belt  along  the  river  bluffs. 

Although  generally  cherty,  it  presents  considerable  variety  in  its 
lithological  characters.  Portions  of  the  mass  appear  as  a  porous  or 
compact  chert,  sometimes  massive,  and  again  quite  evenly  stratified, 
and  these  cherty  beds  pass  into  silico-magnesian  limestones  of  com- 
pact texture,  and  these,  again,  into  chalky,  white  limestones,  filled 
with  nodules  and  concretionary  masses  of  compact  flint.  Some  of 
these  changes  are  probably  due  to  atmospheric  or  aqueous  agencies, 
by  which  the  calcareous  matter  has  been  dissolved  and  removed ;  or 
else  the  silica  has  replaced  the  limestone  by  a  slow  chemical  action, 
analogous  to  that  by  which,  in  certain  strata,  the  calcareous  shells 
of  Mollusks  are  changed  into  siliceous  fossils.  On  sections  12,  13  and 
14,  in  township  11,  range  2  west,  Mr.  ENGELMANN  notices  the  occur- 
rence of  massive  limestones,  that  assume  the  appearance  of  a  white 
marble.  On  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  12,  he  describes  the 
rock  as  a  delicate  grayish-colored  and  white  limestone,  of  a  crystal- 
line or  sub-crystalline  texture.  The  exposed  surface  is  very  hard  and 
full  of  flaws,  from  long  exposure,  but  by  quarrying  into  the  bed 
beyond  the  influence  of  surface  agencies,  an  excellent  material 
might  be  obtained,  that  would  be  adapted  to  various  kinds  of  orna- 
mental work,  of  uniform  quality  and  texture,  and  susceptible  of  a 
high  polish. 

Bald  Knob  is  a  very  prominent  inland  bluff  or  promontory,  that 
lies  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  center  of  township  11  south,  range  2 
west,  and  appears  to  be  mainly  composed  of  the  siliceous  limestones 
and  chert  of  this  formation.  The  cherty  beds  outcrop  along  its  lower 
slopes,  but  the  summit  was  so  covered  with  soil  and  detritus  that 
the  highest  rocks  could  not  be  seen.  On  its  sides  were  seen  tumb- 
ling masses  of  white  quartzose  sandstone,  that  appeared  to  belong 
to  the  bed  usually  overlying  the  Oriskany  group  in  this  portion  of 
the  State.  It  is  said  to  be  the  highest  elevation  in  the  county,  and  it 
is  probable  its  altitude  is  due  to  some  local  disturbance  and  uplift  of 


480  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  strata.  Although  the  strata  of  the  knob,  itself,  seem  to  lie  nearly 
horizontal,  we  find  the  lower  Carboniferous  beds,  on  its  north  side, 
dipping  at  a  high  angle  to  the  northeastward.  In  the  banks  of 
Seminary  Fork,  on  the  southeastern  side  of  the  knob,  we  found  the 
characteristic  fossils  of  this  cherty  limestone  quite  abundant,  and 
about  half  a  mile  further  east,  on  the  same  branch,  we  found  the 
overlying  sandstone  extending  down  to  the  creek  level. 

The  characteristic  fossils  of  this  group,  obtained  from  the  exposures 
of  the  strata  in  this  county,  are  as  follows :  Leptocoslia  flabellites, 
Leptcena  nucleata,  Rhynchonella  speciosa,  Platyceras  tortuosum,  Rens- 
selceria  Condoni,  Spirifer  arctus  (?),  and  Stricklandinia  elongata,  var. 
curia, 

Quartzose  Sandstone  and  Striped  Shales. — These  beds,  which  have 
been  considered  as  forming  the  uppermost  strata  of  the  Oriskany 
series,  more  probably  belong  to  a  higher  geological  level.  They 
directly  overlie  the  cherty  limestones  just  described,  but  owing  to 
the  comparatively  small  thickness  of  strata,  and  the  readiness  with 
which  the  rock  yields  to  the  influence  of  atmospheric  agencies,  good 
exposures  are  rarely  seen,  and  it  exerts  but  little  influence  in  modi- 
fying the  topographical  features  of  the  surface  of  this  county.  The 
shales  are  much  thinner  here  than  in  Alexander'  county,  and  in  the 
central  and  northern  portions  of  the  county  they  were  not  met  with 
at  all.  Four  miles  west  of  Jonesboro,  on  the  road  to  Willard's 
Landing,  the  sandstone  is  exposed  near  the  foot  of  the  bluff,  and  is 
directly  overlaid  by  a  massive  gray  limestone,  equivalent  to  the 
Onondago  limestone  of  New  York,  without  any  intervening  shales, 
so  far  as  could  be  seen.  The  sandstone  was  not  fully  exposed  at 
this  point,  but  was  at  least  thirty  feet  or  more  in  thickness.  We 
found  at  this  locality  a  good  many  fossils,  among  which  are  the 
following :  A  small,  undetermined  Zaphrentis,  Pleurodictyum  proble- 
maticum,  an  Orthis,  like  O.  musculosa,  a  finely  striated  Stophodonta, 
like  S.  magnifica,  but  smaller,  and  fragments  of  a  large  Odontocepha- 
lus,  similar  to,  but  much  larger  than,  that  from  the  overlying  lime- 
stone. About  two  miles  and  a  half  southwest  of  Jonesboro,  on  the 
middle  fork  of  Caney  creek,  the  lower  part  of  this  sandstone  is 
exposed,  resting  directly  upon  the  thin-bedded,  siliceous  and  cherty 
limestones  of  the  Clear  Creek  group,  without  any  indications  of  shale 
between.  The  thin-bedded  limestone  was  full  of  the  characteristic 
fossils  of  this  group,  at  this  locality,  and  a  few  were  also  obtained 
from  the  sandstone.  The  latter  is  most  commonly  met  with  on  the 
summits  of  the  chert  hills,  or  in  tumbling  masses  on  their  slopes. 


UNION    COUNTY.  481 

Three  and  a  half  miles  southwest  of  Jonesboro,  it  outcrops  on  the 
south  fork  of  Caney  creek,  and  at  one  locality  in  this  neighborhood, 
where  it  is  of  a  pure  white  color,  it  has  been  mistaken  for  marble. 
It  is  usually  more  or  less  stained  with  the  red  oxide  of  iron,  the 
colors  being  similar  to  those  of  the  striped  shales  that  are  some- 
times associated  with  it. 

The  striped  shales,  or  "Calico  rock,"  occur  in  the  '-south  part  of 
the  county,  especially  on  Miners'  creek,  where,  according  to  Mr. 
ENGELMANN,  there  is  a  thickness  of  about  fifty  feet  of  these  shales 
exposed,  passing  upward  into  chert.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the 
sandstone  and  shale  replace  each  other,  as  the  shales  are  sometimes 
seen  below  the  sandstone,  and  at  other  localities  above  it,  these 
changes  being  due  to  the  fine  or  coarse  character  of  the  sediment, 
the  finer  giving  origin  to  the  shales,  and  the  coarser  to  the  sand- 
stone. 

Onondaga  Limestone. — Above  the  sandstone  and  shale  just  described 
there  is  a  massive  gray  limestone,  usually  about  twenty  feet  in  thick- 
ness, which,  from  its  peculiar  group  of  fossils,  we  regard  as  the 
equivalent  of  the  Onondaga  limestone  of  the  New  York  Eeports.  It 
is  lighter  colored,  more  massive  and  less  cherty  than  the  overlying 
limestones  of  the  Hamilton  group,  and  may  be  thus  readily  distin- 
guished from  them,  even  in  the  absence  of  characteristic  fossils. 
This  limestone  outcrops  two  miles  west  of  Jonesboro,  on  the  road 
to  Willard's  Landing,  in  the  bed  of  the  creek,  and  four  miles  we8t? 
on  the  same  road,  it  is  found  directly  overlying  the  sandstone  and 
shale,  which  has  already  been  described  as  forming  the  base  of  the 
bluff  at  this  locality.  This  rock  was  supposed  to  form  the  base  of 
the  Hamilton  series,  until  the  fossils  which  it  contained  were  crit- 
ically examined,  when  it  was  found  to  be  quite  distinct  from  that, 
and  more  closely  allied  to  the  older  divisions  of  the  Devonian  series. 
Its  line  of  outcrop  through  this  county  is  determined  by  the  overly- 
ing Hamilton  limestones,  with  which  it  is  intimately  associated.  Its 
most  characteristic  'fossils  are  Centronella  hecate,  Spirifer  acuminatus, 
S.  fimbriatus,  several  undetermined  Spirifers  with  greatly  extended 
hinge  lines,  Atrypa  reticularis,  a  small  Productus,  like  P.  subacvleatus, 
and  a  species  of  the  curious  group  of  Trilobites,  that  also  occurs  in 
the  underlying  sandstones,  resembling  the  Odontocephalus  selenurus 
of  the  Corniferous  limestone  of  New  York,  and  it  may  be  that  this 
is  the  western  representative  of  both  the 'Onondaga  and  Corniferous 
limestones  of  the  eastern  States.  At  the  most  northerly  outcrops  of 
this  limestone,  in  Jackson  county,  it  becomes  locally  quite  arena- 
—31 


482  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

ceous,  and  consists,  in  part,  of  alternations  of  thin  beds  of  limestone 
and  sandstone,  showing,  by  its  lithological  as  well  as  its  palseon- 
tological  characters,  a  more  intimate  relation  with  the  underlying 
than  the  overlying  formation. 

Corniferous  limestone. — This  is  a  dark-gray,  fetid  limestone,  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  in  thickness,  which  was  found  outcropping 
about  two  or  three  miles  west  of  Jonesboro,  where  about  twenty  feet 
in  thickness  was  exposed  above  the  bed  of  the  creek.  It  is  strongly 
impregnated  with  bituminous  matter,  as  shown  by  its  dark  color, 
and  the  strong,  fetid  odor  emitted  from  it  when  struck  with  the  ham- 
mer. It  contains  several  species  of  corals,  among  which  the  Zaphrentis 
is  a  common  form,  together  with  Microcydus  discus,  Phacops  rana, 
Rhynchonella,  etc.  This  limestone  no  doubt  represents  the  oil-pro- 
ducing horizon  of  Canada  West,  but  no  oil  springs  are  known  to 
occur  in  it  in  this  State. 

Hamilton  Group. — This  group  consists  of  two  well-marked  divisions 
in  this  county,  comprising,  first,  a  bed  of  chocolate-brown  and  buff 
calcareous  shale,  filled  with  crushed  specimens  of  Leiorhynchus  lim- 
itaris,  associated  with  Pterinea  muricata;  and  second,  a  bed  of  gray, 
semi- cry staUine  or  granular  limestone,  containing  Tropidoleptus  cari- 
natus  in  abundance,  associated  with  Spirifers,  and  other  character- 
istic Hamilton  forms.  The  thickness  of  the  group  here  is  about 
eighty  or  eighty-five  feet,  and  it  is  immediately  overlaid  by  the 
Black  Slate. 

Black  Slate. — This  division  of  the  Devonian  series  is  very  well 
developed  in  this  county,  and  attains  a  thickness  of  fifty  to  seventy 
feet,  though  it  is  seldom  exposed  in  its  full  thickness.  On  Caney 
creek,  about  two  miles  northwest  of  Jonesboro,  where  the  above  sec- 
tion was  observed,  the  bed  was  pretty  well  exposed,  and  on  one  of 
the  ravines  in  this  vicinity  a  drift  had  been  carried  into  the  hill, 
where  it  outcrops,  in  search  of  coal.  From  its  close  resemblance  to 
the  bituminous  shales  of  the  Coal  Measures,  it  is  not  very  surprising 
that  those  who  are  entirely  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  workable 
coal  beds  are  restricted  to  a  certain  geological  horizon,  and  that  this 
slate  is  far  below  that  horizon,  should  suppose  that  its  outcrop  indi- 
cated the  proximity  of  coal,  and  consequently  be  led  into  a  useless 
expenditure  of  time  and  means,  in  a  vain  search  after  coal  in  regions 
remote  from  the  true  coal-bearing  strata.  Only  a  portion  of  the  bed 
presents  the  color,  the  highly  bituminous  characters,  and  slatey 
cleavage,  which  suggested  the  name  by  which  it  is  generally  known 
in  the  west,  and  the  remainder  consists  of  green  and  blue,  or  choco- 
late-colored argillaceous  shales,  often  so  closely  resembling  the 


UNION    COUNTY.  483 

next  succeeding  formation  that  no  exact  line  of  division  can  be  drawn 
between  them  at  the  partial  exposures  usually  met  with  in  this 
county.  Its  most  northerly  outcrop  in  this  county  is  at  what  is 
called  the  Iron  Mountain,  where  it  forms  the  southeastern  slope  of 
the  hill  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  34,  township  11  south, 
range  2  west.  From  this  point  the  trend  of  its  outcrop  is  a  little 
to  the  east  of  south  to  the  southeast  corner  of  section  36,  township 
13  south,  range  2  west,  making  an  easting  of  about  two  miles  in  a 
distance  of  thirteen  miles  from  north  to  south.  Besides  the  locali- 
ties already  given,  the  black  slate  outcrops  on  the  north  fork  of 
Caney  creek,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  11,  township  12 
soulh,  range  2  west.  In  the  exposures  of  this  horizon,  west  and 
south  of  Jonesboro,  the  bed  becomes  mostly  argillaceous,  and  the 
black  laminated  slates  were  not  seen,  and  are  probably  replaced  by 
argillaceous  shales.  A  single  species  of  fossil  shell  was  obtained 
from  the  slate  at  the  point  where  the  tunnel  was  carried  into  the 
hill,  a  mile  or  more  west  of  Jonesboro.  This  was  a  Lingula  appar- 
ently identical  with  the  L*  spatulata  of  the  Genessee  slate,  of  which 
these  beds  are  supposed  to  be  the  western  representative.  This 
fossil  is  exceedingly  abundant  in  Ohio  and  Tennessee,  wherever  this 
strata  is  exposed,  but  it  has  as  yet  been  found  nowhere  in  Illinois 
except  at  the  locality  above  named.  This  shell  is  figured  on  plate 
13,  figure  1,  Vol.  3  of  the  original  Eeports. 

Siliceous  Shales. — The  black  slate  formation  is  succeeded  by  a 
series  of  siliceous  and  partly  argillaceous  shales,  with  some  inter- 
calations of  chert,  which  are  variously  colored,  sometimes  striped,, 
but  usually  brown,  and  attain  a  thickness  of  a  hundred  feet  or 
more.  Owing  to  the  soft  character  of  the  material  of  which  these 
shales  are,  for  the  most  part,  composed,  good  exposures  are  rarely 
met  with,  and  the  strata  are  generally  covered  up  in  the  slopes  of 
the  hills.  They  have  afforded  no  fossils  to  aid  in  the  determination 
of  their  true  horizon,  but  from  their  lithological  characters,  and 
their  stratigraphical' position,  I  regard  them  as  the  probable  equiva- 
lents of  the  Kinderhook  group  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series. 
Their  line  of  outcrop ,  is  almost  exactly  parallel  with  that  of  the 
underlying  black  slate,  and  commencing  at  the  so-called  Iron  Moun- 
tain, it  runs  a  little  to .  the  east  of  south,  forming  a  narrow  belt, 
scarcely  more  than  a  mile  in  width,  extending  to  the  southwest 

*  NOTE.— This  Lingula  was  found,  on  critical  comparison,  to  be  specifically  distinct  from 
the  New  York  species,  and  has  been  described  under  the  name  of  L.  sub-spatulata.  This 
formation  is  probably  the  equivalent  of  the  Erie  shale  of  Ohio. 


484  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

corner  of  township  13  south,  range  1  west,  where  it  intersects  the 
north  line  of  Alexander  county.  The  shale  passes  upwards  into 
cherty  beds  and  siliceous  limestone,  which  is  nowhere  well  exposed, 
and  probably  belongs  to  one  of  the  limestone  divisions,  perhaps  the 
Keokuk  group  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series.  The  cherty  beds 
form  the  summit  of  the  so-called  Iron  Mountain,  and  contain  ferru- 
ginous matter  in  the  form  of  a  brown  hydroxyd  of  iron,  from  which 
the  hill  derives  its  name.  This  iron  ore  was  probably  derived  from 
a  limestone  formation  that  once  extended  over  the  summit  of  this 
hill,  and  from  which  the  calcareous  portions  have  been  removed  by 
long  exposure  to  surface  agencies,  or  the  more  rapidly  denuding 
forces  of  water  currents,  leaving  only  the  cherty  portions  remaining. 
At  what  time  and  by  what  agency  the  ferruginous  matter  by  which 
the  cherty  mass  is  now  permeated  was  introduced,  can  only  be  con- 
jectured. Perhaps  the  limestone  from  which  the  material  has  been 
derived  was  the  source  of  chalybeate  springs,  the  waters  of  which 
may  have  dissolved  the  lirae  and  precipitated  in  its  place  the  iron 
ore,  by  which  the  cherty  material  is  now  cemented  into  a  highly 
ferruginous  mass.  At  our  first  visit  to  this  locality,  in  1858,  we 
measured  about  thirty  feet  of  chert  and  iron  ore  overlying  the  shales 
which  form  the  slope  of  the  hill.  At  this  time  we  saw  some  imper- 
fect fossils  in  the  chert,  which  led  us  to  suspect  that  it  had  been 
derived  from  a  limestone,  probably  the  equivalent  of  the  Keokuk 
group  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series.  No  indications  of  the  ex- 
istence of  beds  equivalent  to  the  Burlington  limestone  were  seen  in 
this  county,  although  this  formation  has  been  recognized  in  the 
adjoining  county  of  Jackson,  on  the  north,  and  it  seems  probable 
that  that  is  the  most  southerly  outcrop  of  the  bed,  for  in  this  county, 
and  in  Hardin,  although  the  junction  of  the  Devonian  with  the  lower 
Carboniferous  limestone  is  well  exposed,  no  representative  of  that 
limestone  with  its  peculiar  group  of  fossils  has  been  seen.  It  seems 
most  probable  that  the  siliceous  cherty  limestones  and  beds  of  chert 
that  immediately  underlie  the  St.  Louis  limestqnes  here,  are  refer- 
able to  the  Keokuk  group  rather  than  to  any  older  formation. 

St.  Louis  Limestone. — This  important  limestone  is  well  developed 
in  this  county.  Commencing  on  the  north  side  of  "Bald  Knob,"  in 
the  southeast  quarter  of  section  17,  township  11  south,  range  2 
west,  it  forms  a  triangular  belt  to  the  south  line  of  the  county.  Its 
western  line  of  outcrop  is  parallel  with  that  of  the  subordinate 
Devonian  strata,  and  its  trend  is  a  little  to  the  east  of  south,  while 
its  eastern  boundary  is  a  line  running  southeast  from  "Bald  Knob," 
so  that,  from  a  mere  point  at  its  northern  extremity,  it  gradually 


UNION   COUNTY.  485 

widens  to  the  southern  line  of  the  county,  where  its  outcrop  covers 
an  area  of  about  twelve  miles  in  width.  Its  most  northerly  outcrop 
is  on  the  Seminary  fork  of  Clear  creek,  near  the  center  of  township 
11  south,  range  2  west,  and  on  the  head-waters  of  Clear  creek,  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  same  township.  In  township  12  south, 
range  1  and  2  west,  it  outcrops  on  all  the  head-waters  of  Caney 
creek  and  on  Little  creek,  and  over  the  whole  of  township  13  south, 
range  1  west,  except  a  small  area  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
township,  on  Big  creek,  throughout  its  whole  course  in  this  county, 
and  on  Add's  branch,  and  Cypress  creek,  below  the  middle  of  sec- 
tion 23,  township  12  south,  range  1  east. 

This  limestone  presents  considerable  variation  in  its  lithological 
characters  in  the  different  parts  of  the  formation,  and  also  at  dif- 
ferent localities  in  the  same  stratum.  The  lowest  portion  of  the 
group,  which  is  tolerably  well  exposed  a  half  mile  west  of  Jones- 
boro,  forms  what  is  known  in  that  region  as  the  Jonesboro  limestone. 
It  is  a  massive,  light  gray,  or  nearly  white,  sub-crystalline,  or  earthy 
limestone,  that  breaks  regularly  into  rectangular  blocks,  and  forms 
a  good  and  durable  building  stone.  Most  of  it,  at  the  outcrops  we 
examined,  is  quite  free  from  chert,  but,  locally,  it  becomes  some- 
what cherty,  the  siliceous  material  being  disseminated  through  it  in 
concretions,  or  in  fine  particles,  which,  when  the  lime,  is  dissolved, 
leaves  a  skeleton  of  porous  chert.  The  thickness  of  this  part  of  the 
group,  exposed  near  Jonesboro,  is  about  thirty  feet,  but  probably  in 
the  aggregate  it  is  much  more.  It  has  afforded  no  well  defined  fos- 
sils, and  its  true  age  is  only  determined  by  its  stratigraphical  posi- 
tion and  its  lithological  characters,  which  appear  to  be  more  nearly 
related  to  the  St.  Louis  group  than  to  any  other  division  of  the 
lower  Carboniferous  series.  The  principal  outcrops  of  this  rock  in 
this  county,  besides  the  one  just  named,  immediately  west  of  Jones- 
boro, are  on  Caney  creek,  near  the  centre  of  section  11,  township 

12,  range  2,  at  the  German   meeting-house,  in  the  centre  of  section 
1,  township  13,  range  2  west,  thence  up  the  branch  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  1,  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  12,  and  through 
the  south  half  of  the  adjoining  section  6.     On  the  branches  of  Mill 
creek  it  outcrops  near  the  southeast    corner  of  section  13,  township 

13,  range  2  west,  and   in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  18,  town- 
ship   13,  range  1  west,  in   the    southeast  quarter  of   section  17  and 
the  northeast  corner  of  section  19,  and  through  the  southwest  quar- 
ter of  section  20,  from  whence  it  probably  extends  southward  to  the 
county  line.     The  curious  forms  known  under  the  names  of   epsom- 
ites,  crystalites,  stylotites,  lignilites,  etc.,  are  frequently  met  with  in  this 


486  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

part  of  the  St.  Louis  group,  near  Jonesboro.  They  consist  of  por- 
tions of  the  rock  that  are  separated  from  the  surrounding  mass  by 
a  series  of  parallel  columns,  or  flutings,  which  penetrate  the  strata 
at  right-angles  to  the  plane  of  stratification,  and  give  to  the  enclosed 
mass,  when  broken  out,  a  vertically  striated  surface.  Their  origin 
has  been  explained  in  various  ways,  and  as  fossil  shells  are  often 
found,  forming  one  extremity  of  the  lignilite,  determining  to  some 
extent  their  size  and  form,  it  has  been  suggested  that  they  are  due 
either  to  the  embedded  shells  or  some  other  hard  substance,  which 
was  forced  upward  by  the  pressure  of  escaping  gcises,  before  the 
hardening  of  the  strata,  and  leaving  a  tubular  shaped  hole  beneath, 
which  was  subsequently  filled  from  below  with  the  soft  sediments, 
by  the  pressure  of  the  superincumbent  strata,  thus  forming  the  lig- 
nilites.  As  fossil  shells  are  exceedingly  scarce  in  these  strata,  while 
the  lignilites  are  abundant,  it  seems  that  they  must  be  due,  in  this 
instance,  at  least,  to  something  besides  the  presence  of  organic 
forms. 

Above  these  massive  beds  just  described,  we  find  a  series  of  bluish- 
gray  or  light  gray  siliceous  and  cherty  limestones,  in  thinner  beds 
than  the  rock  below.  Some  of  the  beds  are  crystalline,  others  are 
argillaceous,  and,  when  decomposed,  leave  a  profusion  of  reddish 
chert,  that  is  found  in  abundance  in  all  the  ravine's  that  intersect 
this  limestone.  Fossils  are  not  abundant  in  this  division  of  the 
group  in  Union  county,  but  a  few  siliceous  corals  are  found,  among 
which  are  the  two  common  forms  of  Lithostrotion,  the  L.  proliferum 
and  L.  mamillaris,  with  one  or  two  species  of  Zaphrentis,  not  yet 
determined.  This  division  comprises  the  outcrops  north  and  south 
of  Jonesboro,  and  between  the  latter  and  Anna.  It  is  succeeded  by 
a  serfes  of  light  and  bluish-gray  massive  limestones,  usually  close 
textured  and  sub-crystalline,  some  beds  of  which  are  purely  calca- 
reous, while  others  are  siliceous  and  magiiesian.  Many  of  the  lay- 
ers are  locally  oolitic,  as  at  the  lime  quarries  east  of  Anna,  and 
this  oolitic  character  will  probably  be  found  characteristic  of  this 
portion  of  the  group  throughout  the  county. 

The  St.  Louis  limestone  in  this  county  attains  an  aggregate  thick- 
ness of  two  hundred  feet  or  more,  and  the  surface  over  which  it 
outcrops  may  readily  be  defined  by  the  numerous  sink-holes  which 
everywhere  abound  where  this  is  the  underlying  rock.  It  is  the 
well-known  "Cavernous  limestone"  of  the  west,  and  most  of  the  large 
caves  of  this  and  the  adjoining  States  are  in  this  formation. 

The  fossils  of  the  upper  division  at  the  quarries  east  of  Anna  are 
mostly  siliceous,  and  consist  in  part  of  the  following  species :  Pen- 


UNION   COUNTY.  487 

tremites  Koninckiana,  P.  Grosvenowri,  plates  of  a  "Platycrinus  like  P. 
plenus,  Athyris  ambigua,  A.  Royissii,  Platyceras  acutirostris,  Terebratula 
formosa,  T.  hastata,  Rhynchonella  mutata,  Retzia  Verneuiliana,  and  sev- 
eral undetermined  corals.  Above  the  massive  oolitic  limestones  just 
described,  Mr.  ENGELMANN  mentions  the  occurrence  of  a  bed  of  fine- 
grained, ripple-marked  sandstone,  eight  feet  in  thickness,  outcrop- 
ing  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  7,  township  13,  range  1  east, 
and  succeeded  by  twenty  feet  of  white  or  light  gray  oolitic  and  flinty 
limestone,  which  may  be  considered  as  the  very  highest  beds  of  the 
St.  Louis  group,  or  perhaps  forming  beds  of  passage  to  the  next 
succeeding  formation. 

Chester  Group. — This  is  by  far  the  most  important  subdivision  of 
the  lower  Carboniferous  series  in  this  portion  of  the  State,  and 
attains  a  maximum  thickness,  where  fully  developed,  of  at  least  a 
thousand  feet.  It  consists  of  four  or  five  different  bodies  of  lime- 
stone, separated  by  sandstones  and  shales,  and  is  characterized  by 
a  distinct  group  of  fossils,  which  serve  to  distinguish  it  at  once  from 
any  of  the  subordinate  groups  of  limestone.  Eight  divisions  of  this 
group  have  been  recognized  in  Union  county,  four  of  which  are 
limestones,  and  the  remainder  sandstones  and  shales,  and  we  have 
numbered  them  consecutively  from  the  top  downward ;  the  odd  num- 
bers, 1,  3,  5,  7,  being  applied  to  the  limestones,  and  the  even  num- 
bers, 2,  4,  6,  8,  to  the  sandstones. 

The  limestones  of  this  group  are  usually  argillaceous,  sometimes 
siliceous  and  ferruginous,  and  are  readily  distinguished  from  the 
other  calcareous  divisions  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series,  even 
in  the  absence  of  characteristic  fossils,  by  their  lithological  characters. 
The  sandstones  are  more  evenly  and  thinly  bedded  than  the  over- 
lying Conglomerate,  and  are  locally  ripple-marked.  The  lowest  divi- 
sion of  this  group  is  a  thick  bed  of  sandstone,  to  which  the  name 
of  ferruginous  sandstone  has  sometimes  been  applied,  from  the  fer- 
ruginous matter  which  it  contains  at  certain  localities.  This  char- 
acter predominates  more  or  less  in  all  the  sandstones  of  this  series, 
the  brown  oxide  of  iron  being  generally  disseminated  through  it  in 
specks,  giving  a  mottled  appearance  to  the  rock  when  freshly  broken. 
Locally  the  upper  sandstones  of  this  series  are  replaced  by  shales, 
either  argillaceous  or  sandy,  and  as  they  readily  decompose  when 
exposed  to  atmospheric  action,  they  are  usually  covered  up  in  the 
slopes  of  the  hills.  The  thickness  of  the  lower  sandstone,  No.  8, 
of  this  series,  is  about  150  feet  in  this  county,  and  commencing  on 
the  head  waters  of  Huggins  creek,  in  the  northwest  part  of  the 
county,  its  line  of  outcrop  extends  in  a  nearly  due  southeast  course 


488  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

to  the  middle  of  the  east  line  of  township  13  south,  range  1  east, 
where  it  crosses  the  county  line  into  Johnson  county.  On  the  Sem- 
inary fork  of  Clear  creek,  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  22, 
township  11  south,  range  2  west,  it  may  be  seen  rising  abruptly  to 
the  surface,  with  a  strong  dip  to  the  northeast,  and  forming  the 
base  of  a  heavy  limestone  series.  It  may  be  seen  capping  the 
St.  Louis  limestone  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  26,  and 
on  the  main  fork  of  Clear  creek,  above  the  Iron  Mountain,  and 
probably  crosses  the  dividing  ridge  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
6,  township  12  south,  range  1  west.  On  a  branch  of  Cache  river, 
on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  8,  it  was  traced  for  some 
distance,  until  the  creek  turns  east,  when  it  dips  below  the  water 
level,  and  is  succeeded  by  the  higher  members  of  the  series.  On 
Big  creek,  as  far  as  it  runs  southeastward,  this  sandstone  caps  the 
ridge  to  the  northeast,  and  continues  in  that  course  by  the  head  of 
Add's  branch,  and  crosses  Cypress  creek,  striking  the  Johnson 
county  line  at  the -southeast  corner  of  section  24,  township  13  south, 
range  1  east. 

It  is  better  exposed  on  Cypress  creek  than  anywhere  else  in  the 
county,  and  beginning  in  the  breaks  at  the  head  of  the  creek,  on  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  23,  township  12  south,  range  1  west, 
it  outcrops  along  the  creek  for  some  distance,  forming  not  only  its 
banks,  but  the  slopes  of  the  adjacent  hills.  A  portion  of  it  here  is 
thinly  bedded,  and  separates  into  thin,  even  slabs,  suited  to  various 
building  purposes.  On  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  31,  town- 
ship 12  south,  range  1  east,  it  crops  out  along  a  small  branch  of 
this  creek,  and  is  fine-grained,  white  with  brown  spots,  purely 
quartzose,  and  rather  soft  when  first  quarried,  but  hardens  on 
exposure.  It  is  obtained  here  in  fine,  even  slabs,  from  one  to 
twelve  inches  in  thickness,  which  dress  easily,  and  appear  to  pos- 
sess a  suitable  grit  for  grindstones,  and  is  also  suitable  for  founda- 
tion walls,  and  many  other  uses  for  which  building  stones  are 
required.  These  evenly-bedded  layers  are  not  confined  in  their 
outcrop  to  this  locality,  but  have  been  observed  at  several  points  in 
this  county.  In  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  32,  the  upper 
shaly  strata  of  this  division  are  exposed  at  the  foot  of  hills  on  the 
north  side  of  the  creek,  while  the  overlying  limestone  outcrops 
higher  up  on  the  slope.  In  the  south  part  of  section  33,  the  sand" 
stone  reaches  a  height  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet  above  the  creek,  and 
is  overlaid  by  the  succeeding  limestone.  From  thence  down  the 
creek  it  forms  high  cliffs  a  hundred  feet  or  more  in  height,  down 
to  section  3,  township  13,  range  1  east,  where  the  course  of  the 


UNION    COUNTY.  489 

creek  changes  more  to  the  eastward,  and  the  sandstone  dips  below 
the  creek  level,  except  some  shaly  layers  that  form  the  top  of 
this  division,  and  continue  near  the  creek  level  lower  down,  even 
where  the  overlying  limestone  forms  the  main  portion  of  the  bluff. 
The  sandstone  rises  again  on  section  12,  and  from  thence  down  it 
forms  a  continuous  and  gradually  rising  bluff  to  section  24,  where 
it  leaves  the  creek  in  consequence  of  the  southwesterly  direction  of 
its  course. 

The  outcrops  of  the  upper  members  of  this  series  cannot  be  so 
accurately  traced,  in  consequence  of  the  general  resemblance  which 
the  different  beds  bear  to  each  other,  and  for  the  lack  of  continuous 
exposures  along  the  line  of  trend  of  the  strata.  The  area  which 
they  occupy  in  this  county  may  be  briefly  described  as  follows: 
Commencing  in  the  southeastern  portion  they  outcrop  in  the  north- 
eastern corner  of  township  ]3  south,  range  1  east,  over  the  whole 
of  township  12  south,  range  1  east,  except  the  southwest  corner. 
The  southern  part  of  township  11  south,  range  1  east,  and  11  south, 
1  west,  extending  up  Bradshaw's  creek,  to  within  a  mile  of  the 
northern  line  of  the  county,  and  outcropping  on  Drury's  creek, 
nearly  as  far  north ;  and  in  township  11  south,  range  2  west,  they 
form  a  belt  about  two  miles  in  width,  extending  diagonally  from 
the  southeast  to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township.  They  also 
outcrop  on  the  north  side  of  the  dividing  ridge  in  this  township, 
on  the  head-waters  of  Clay-lick,  Cedar  and  Cave  creeks,  to  the 
north  line  of  the  county.  From  these  remarks  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  general  trend  of  these  strata  corresponds  very  nearly  with  that 
of  the  St.  Louis  limestone  below,  and  is  very  nearly  from  north- 
west to  southeast. 

The  following  section  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  group  was  made 
by  Mr.  ENGELMANN,  on  Cypress  creek,  on  the  south  part  of  section 
33,  township  12  south,  range  1  east: 

Covered  slope  at  top  of  the  hill,  not  measured 

Massive  sandstone,  partially  exposed 20  feet 

Close  textured  gray  limestone,  with  Archimedes  and  otherfossils 40    " 

Hidden  slope,  probably  underlaid  by  limestone  or  shale 18    " 

Limestone,  similar  to  that  above 21    ' 

Limestone,  close  textured  and  crystalline,  bluish  or  brownish  gray,  with  Archi- 
medes, Producing  elegans,  etc 19    ' 

Sandstone,  mostly  fine  grained  and  quartzose,  some  of  it  thin  bedded,  and  in  the 
upper  part  shaly 70    ' 

It  is  probable  that  all  these  limestones,  including  the  hidden 
slope  between  the  two  limestones,  belong  to  the  lower  limestone 
division,  No.  7,  of  the  Chester  series ;  and  if  so,  it  is  about  one 
hundred  feet  in  thickness  in  this  part  of  the  county.  This  lime- 


490  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

stone  forms  the  principal  part  the  bluffs  on  Cypress  creek,  in  sections 
2  and  12,  and  near  the  mouth  of  Dry  fork,  in  the  west  part  of 
section  2,  it  forms  a  prominent  bluff,  where  a  hundred  feet  in 
thickness  of  the  limestone  is  exposed.  The  same  strata  outcrop  on 
the  Vienna  road,  near  the  bridge,  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  the 
same  section,  where  the  limestone  shows  intercalations  of  argil- 
laceous shales.  Near  the  middle  of  section  12,  township  13,  range  1 
east,  the  limestone  is  overlaid  by  forty  feet  of  sandstone.  The 
only  point  where  this  limestone  was  seen  extending  to  the  south- 
west, beyond  Cypress  creek,  is  on  section  11,  and  it  is  no  doubt 
the  lower  limestone,  or  No.  7,  of  the  Chester  series,  reckoning  from 
the  top  downwards.  This  limestone  also  outcrops  to  the  north- 
westward, on  a  branch  of  Cache  creek,  northeast  of  Anna,  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  9,  township  12  south,  range  1  west, 
where  from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  in  thickness  of  it  may  be  seen,  and 
it  extends  across  the  hills  into  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  9, 
and  thence  diagonally  across  section  16,  dipping  strongly  to  the 
northeast.  The  exposed  portions  are  mostly  gray  and  crystalline, 
with  numerous  fossils,  and  especially  Pentremites  godoni,  Productus 
elegans,  Spirifer  lineatus,  Athyris  ambigua,  and  Archimedes.  Beyond 
this  point,  on  the  west  half  of  section  9,  we  find  the  overlying  sand- 
stone, No.  6,  forming  a  bluff  about  forty  feet  in  height,  and  at 
another  point  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  same  section,  the 
following  section  was  made,  where  nearly  the  whole  thickness  of 
this  sandstone  was  exposed : 

Vertical  cliff  of  sandstone 10  feet 

Slope,  underlaid  with  thin  beds  of  sandstone : 1 24    " 

Hard  sandstone,  in  thin  beds,  alternating  with  shales 10    " 

Gray  and  purple  argillaceous  shales 10    " 

The  underlying  limestone,  No.  7,  crops  out  near  by,  and  this 
section  probably  shows  very  nearly  the  whole  thickness  of  the  sand- 
stone No.  6,  which  is  here  not  far  from  sixty  feet.  In  section  34, 
township  12  south,  range  1  east,  there  is  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
of  this  sandstone  exposed  in  thin  and  evenly  stratified  beds.  Con- 
tinuing up  the  eastern  branch  of  this  creek  to  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  34  and  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  35,  we  find  the 
overlying  limestone,  No.  5,  capping  the  ridge.  It  is  also  exposed 
on  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  1,  township  13  south,  range  1  east, 
and  the  adjoining  section,  36,  on  the  north.  In  the  northern  part 
of  township  12  south,  range  1  west,  these  rocks  are  also  well  exposed 
in  numerous  outcrops,  on  the  branches  of  Cache  river.  On  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  4,  the  sandstpne  No.  6  appears,  dipping 


UNION   COUNTY.  491 

rapidly  down  the  creek,  and  soon  disappears  and  is  succeeded  by 
the  limestone  No.  5,  and  that  by  the  overlying  sandstone,  No.  4. 
The  limestone  No.  5  may  be  traced  to  section  9,  where  it  is  much 
better  exposed.  The  overlying  sandstone  caps  the  ridge  in  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  9,  and  in  the  west  part  of  section  10, 
and  forms  the  bluffs  of  the  creek  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 4,  and  through  sections  3  and  2.  On  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  3,  it  is  exposed  from  the  water's  edge  to  the  height  of  forty 
feet,  mostly  in  thin  beds,  suitable  for  building  material. 

On  a  sharp  southward  bend  of  the  creek  in  section  2,  near  the  east 
line,  and  just  above  the  crossing  of  the  Jonesbr>ro  and  Saratoga 
road,  this  limestone  No.  5  outcrops  on  the  south  branch  of  the 
creek,  forming  a  bluff  twenty  feet  in  height,  above  a  sloping  bank 
of  twelve  feet,  and  it  is  here  overlaid  by  twelve  feet  of  sandstone, 
above  which  was  a  ledge  of  brown  limestone  (containing  the  remains 
of  Fishes  and  Trilobites),  which  appeared  to  be  a  local  intercalation 
in  the  sandstone,  loose  masses  of  which  covered  the  slope  above. 
In  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  1,  the  sandstone  forms  the  banks 
of  the  creek,  and  the  stratum  of  intercalated  limestone  is  again 
seen,  two  feet  in  thickness,  containing  the  fossils  common  to  this 
group.  The  sandstone  No.  6  also  appears  on  Cache  river,  on  section 
17,  township  12  south,  range  1  east.  The  lower  part,  about  twenty 
feet  in  thickness,  is  thin-bedded,  fine-grained,  and  of  a  dark-brown 
color,  and  some  portions  of  it  are  very  hard,  approaching  a  quartzite 
in  texture.  The  upper  part  is  best  exposed  a  short  distance  farther 
east,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  20,  where  the  creek  runs 
over  thin  beds  of  ripple-marked,  brown,  compact,  flinty  sand-rock, 
that  splits  regularly  into  rhomboidal  slabs,  and  show  a  strong  dip  to 
the  north-northeast.  Above  it  there  are  about  ten  feet  of  gray 
argillaceous  shales,  the  upper  eight  inches  of  which  are  dark-colored 
and  bituminous,  and  contain,  in  the  upper  two  inches,  some  thin 
streaks  of  coal.  This  stratum  has  been  observed  at  several  other 
points  in  this  and  the  adjoining  counties,  and  indicates  the  earliest 
period  when  the  coal-forming  conditions  began  to  prevail  in  Southern 
Illinois. 

Sandstone  No.  4  is  only  exposed  on  Cache  river,  on  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  14,  where  it  is  seen  as  a  finely-grained,  compact, 
brown,  slightly  micaceous  sandstone,  capped  by  the  limestone  No. 
3,  and  it  also  appears  on  the  lower  course  of  Bradshaw's  creek,  in 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  16.  Except  at  the  point  above 
named,  the  Chester  limestone  No.  3  was  not  seen  on  Cache  river, 
except  near  the  Johnson  county  line,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of 


492  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

section  13,  where  ledges  of  it  cross  the  creek,  and  the  water  has 
worn  a  narrow  channel  through  the  rugged  masses  of  limestone.  It 
is  of  a  bluish-gray  color,  close-textured,  with  an  uneven  fracture. 
Half  a  mile  to  the  northeast  of  this  point,  on  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  13,  it  is  again  exposed  in  the  lower  part  of  the  bluff, 
about  thirty  feet  in  thickness,  while  the  sandstone  No.  2  caps  the 
bluffs,  which  are  abruptly  broken.  To  the  northward  the  sandstone 
extends  to  the  lower  part  of  Lick  creek. 

On  Bradshaw's  creek,  which  heads  in  the  dividing  ridge  that  tra- 
verses the  northern  part  of  the  county,  there  are  numerous  outcrops 
of  this  limestone,  beginning  a  half  mile  above  its  junction  with 
Cache  river,  and  extending  northward  nearly  to  the  township  line. 
It  is  usually  of  a  dark,  bluish-gray  color,  fetid,  hard  and  subcrys- 
talline,  and  contains  the  common  fossils  of  the  group.  The  overlying 
sandstone  No.  2  crops  out  on  sections  2  and  3,  township  12  south, 
range  1  east,  while  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  3,  the  upper 
limestone  No.  1  is  seen.  On  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  32, 
township  11  south,  range  1  east,  the  limestone  No.  3  is  seen  rising 
from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  above  the  water  level,  and  is  here 
overlaid  by  ten  feet  of  shales,  and  a  heavy  body  of  sandstone,  which 
forms  prominent  cliffs  in  the  bend  of  the  creek  on  the  north  part  of 
section  31.  Extending  thence  westward,  it  caps  the  highest  ridges 
northeast  of  Saratoga.  On  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  30,  the 
sandstone  dips  below  the  creek  level,  and  is  succeeded  by  the  upper 
limestone,  which  outcrops  along  the  upper  course  of  the  creek, 
nearly  to  the  north  line  of  the  county.  On  Lick  creek  and  Conne- 
way  branch  this  limestone  is  well  exposed,  and  on  the  former  creek 
reaches  nearly  the  head,  attaining  a  thickness  of  a  hundred  feet  or 
more,  and  is  succeeded  by  the  Conglomerate. 

West  and  northwest  from  Saratoga,  on  the  branches  of  Cache  river, 
these  two  upper  divisions  of  the  Chester  series  form  the  principal 
outcrops,  extending  to  Cobden,  and  on  the  head  waters  of  Drury's 
creek  to  within  about  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  north  line  of  the 
county. 

On  the  head  waters  of  Clear  creek,  west  and  northwest  of  Cobden, 
the  lower  divisions  of  the  Chester  series  appear,  forming  prominent 
bluffs  on  section  25,  township  11  south,  range  2  west,  and  they  also 
appear  on  some  of  the  head  branches  of  Huggins  creek,  and  on 
Cave  creek,  Cedar  creek,  and  Clay-lick  creek,  on  the  northern  side 
of  the  dividing  ridge.  The  aggregate  thickness  of  the  group  in  this 
county  probably  will  not  exceed  seven  or  eight  hundred  feet,  and  as 


UNION   COUNTY.  493 

it  is  somewhat  irregular  in  its  development,  it  would  be  found  to 
vary  considerably  in  its  thickness  at  different  points. 

The  upper  limestone  division,  which  reaches  an  aggregate  thick- 
ness in  this  county  of  more  than  a  hundred  feet,  according  to  the 
measurements  and  sections  of  Mr.  ENGELMANN,  includes  beds  which, 
in  some  of  the  adjoining  counties,  probably  constitute  two  or  three 
distinct  divisions  of  the  series.  The  prevalence  of  quartzose  sand- 
stones through  the  group  seems  to  ally  it  somewhat  closely  to  the 
overlying  Conglomerate,  and  indeed  the  whole  series  was  included 
by  Dr.  OWEN  with  the  Conglomerate,  as  constituting  the  series 
equivalent  to  the  Millstone-grit  of  England.  But  the  presence  of 
Pentremites,  Archimedes,  and  many  other  fossils  which  are  usually 
considered  to  be  characteristic  lower  Carboniferous  forms,  has  caused 
it  to  be  recognized  latterly  by  nearly  all  American  geologists  as  the 
upper  division  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestone. 

Conglomerate. — This  sandstone,  which  forms  the  base  of  the  true 
Coal  Measures,  and,  locally,  contains  some  beds  of  coal  that  reach 
a  thickness  of  two  or  three  feet,  and  are  consequently  of  some  com- 
mercial value,  outcrops  over  a  considerable  area  in  the  northwestern 
portion  of  the  county,  and  its  southern  limit  is  pretty  nearly  denned 
by  the  dividing  ridge  which  we  have  already  mentioned  as  traversing 
the  northern  portion  of  the  county,  and  forming  a  distinct  water-shed 
across  the  southern  portion  of  the  State.  The  base  of  this  formation 
consists  of  a  massive  quartzose  sandstone,  usually  coarse-grained, 
and,  locally,  containing  embedded  pebbles  from  the  size  of  a  pea 
upward  to  several  inches  in  diameter.  Its  outcrop  often  presents,  at 
the  base,  a  perpendicular  face  of  concretionary  or  imperfectly  strati- 
fied sandstone,  fifty  feet  or  more  in  thickness.  Above  this,  the  beds 
become  more  evenly  stratified;  and  are  sometimes  shaly,  or  inter- 
stratified  with  shales.  Its  thickness  has  not  been  accurately  meas- 
ured, but  it  probably  reaches  an  average  of  two  hundred  feet  or  more. 
The  most  westerly  outcrop  of  this  formation  in  Union  county  is  in 
the  south  part  of  section  9,  township  11  south,  range  2  west,  a  little 
northeast  of  Bald  Knob.  From  there  it  trends  southeast  to  Cobden, 
where  it  is  intersected  by  the  water-courses  of  the  South  Pass,  beyond 
which  it  continues  to  the  southeast,  nearly  to  the  middle  of  section 
33,  township  11  south,  range  1  west,  where  it  bends  abruptly  to  the 
northward,  around  the  heads  of  Bradshaw's  creek  and  Little  Grassy, 
to  within  about  a  mile  of  the  north  line  of  the  county,  where  it 
turns  again  rapidly  southeastward,  in  a  narrow  tongue,  occupying 
the  hills  between  Bradshaw's  creek  and  Lick  creek,  as  far  south  as 
the  southwest  quarter  of  section  28,  township  11  south,  range  I  east. 


494  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

On  the  north  and  east  of  Lick  creek,  it  occupies  the  whole  remain- 
ing area  of  the  township,  intersecting  the  Johnson  county  line  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  township  11  south,  range  1  east.  Its  outcrop  in 
the  county  covers  an  area  of  a  little  more  than  one  and  a  half  town- 
ships, and  is  confined  to  the  northern  and  northeastern  portions  of 
the  county.  A  few  plants,  such  as  Sigillaria,  Stigmaria,  Lepidoden- 
drorif  etc.,  have  been  found  in  the  evenly-bedded  sandstones  of  this 
group,  on  Drury's  creek,  and  these  are  the  only  fossils  it  has  thus 
far  afforded. 

Superficial  Deposits. — The  surface  deposits  upon  the  uplands  in  this 
county  consist  mainly  of  a  yellow,  loamy  clay,  mixed,  locally,  with 
flinty  gravel,  derived,  no  doubt,  from  the  underlying  limestones,  by 
the  decomposition  of  the  calcareous  portions,  through  atmospheric 
agencies;  but  no  evidences  were  seen  of  the  presence  of  anything 
like  true  Northern  Drift  in  the  county.  The  Loess  formation  was 
recognized  at  a  single  locality  only,  on  the  road  from  Jonesboro  to 
Willard's  Landing,  where  the  road  intersects  a  ridge  of  this  material 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Mississippi  bottom,  and  the  cut  through 
it  exposes  from  20  to  30  feet  of  light,  buff-colored,  finely  arenaceous 
silt,  in  situ,  and  presenting  the  usual  appearance  of  the  arenaceous  beds 
of  this  formation.  And  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  in  this  region  no 
deposits  of  this  kind  cap  the  highest  hills,  as  at  more  northerly 
localities,  but  they  occupy  the  valleys,  showing  that  the  hills  in  this 
part  of  the  State  were  already  elevated  far  above  the  water  level  at 
the  time  the  Loess  beds  were  deposited.  These  beds  extend  down- 
ward very  nearly  or  quite  to  the  present  level  of  the  Mississippi 
bottoms. 

Economical  Geology. 

Coal. — From  what  has  already  been  said  in  the  foregoing  pages, 
it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  no  true  coal-bearing  rocks  in  this  county, 
and  hence,  that  no  reasonable  expectation  of  finding  extensive  de- 
posits of  coal  can  be  entertained.  As  has  already  been  said,  con- 
siderable labor  has  been  expended  west  of  Jonesboro,  in  digging  for 
coal  in  the  Black  Slate  of  the  Devonian  series;  but  as  this  slate 
lies  more  than  a  thousand  feet  below  the  horizon  of  any  true  coal- 
bearing  strata,  the  labor  and  means  so  expended  can  only  result  in 
disappointment.  There  are  some  thin  streaks  of  coal  appearing 
locally,  interstratified  with  the  shales  of  the  Chester  series ;  but  they 
have  never  been  found  so  developed  as  to  be  of  any  practical  value. 
One  of  the  thin  coals,  occurring  in  the  Conglomerate,  has  been 


UNION    COUNTY.  495 

found  just  over  the  county  line,  in  Williamson  county,  and  may, 
possibly,  extend  into  Union,  and  if  so,  will  be  found  near  the  north 
line  of  the  county.  This  is  the  only  portion  of  the  county  where 
coal  may  be  looked  for  with  any  prospect  of  success,  and  it  is  but 
seldom  that  the  Conglomerate  coals  are  sufficiently  developed  to  make 
them  of  any  practical  value,  except  to  supply  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood where  they  outcrop. 

Iron  Ore. — The  brown  hematite  ore  exists  in  this  county  in  consid- 
erable quantities,  though  to  the  present  time  no  deposit  has  been 
discovered  that  appears  to  be  sufficiently  extensive,  and  free  from 
extraneous  matter  to  justify  the  erection  of  a  furnace.  The  principal 
deposit  of  this  kind,  and  the  only  one  that  promises  to  be  of  any 
practical  value,  is  that  already  partially  described  as  forming  the 
summit  of  the  ridge  known  as  the  Iron  Mountain.  This  ore  is  a 
good,  compact  variety  of  brown  hematite,  which,  in  its  purest  state, 
affords  from  fifty  to  sixty  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron,  but  it  is  here  more 
or  less  intermingled  with  chert,  the  latter  often  forming  the  greater 
portion  of  the  mass.  No  considerable  body  of  ore  was  seen  during 
our  examinations  of  this  region,  that  was  entirely  free  from  siliceous 
matter,  and  this  would  necessarily  very  much  deteriorate  the  value 
of  the  ore  for  the  manufacture  of  metallic  iron.  It  is  quite  possible, 
however,  that  a  more  careful  search,  by  digging  into  the  cherty  mass 
at  the  most  prominent  points,  would  bring  to  light  an  accumulation 
of  the  ore  so  free  from  chert  as  to  be  successfully  smelted  for  the 
production  of  iron.  The  ore  and  chert  with  which  it  is  associated, 
forms  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  while  the  slope  of  the  hill  is  formed 
by  the  shales  and  slates  of  the  Kinderhook  group,  and  Devonian 
limestones.  As  these  beds  are  nowhere  highly  ferruginous,  it  is  not 
probable  that  the  jiron  originated  in  them,  but  rather  from  some 
limestones  of  lower  Carboniferous  age,  which,  no  doubt,  originally 
extended  over  the  ridge.  These  limestones  may  have  been  the  source 
of  chalybeate  springs,  from  which  the  iron  was  precipitated  as  the 
water  reached  the  surface  and  dissolved  the  lime,  leaving  the  chert 
to  be  embedded  as  we  now  find  it,  in  a  ferruginous  mass.  The  dip 
of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestones  now  found  to  the  northeast- 
ward of  this  ridge,  is  such,  that  any  considerable  extension  of  their 
beds  to  the  southwestward  would  carry  the  strata  to  the  summit  of 
this  ridge,  of  which  they  no  doubt  once  formed  a  part,  and  from 
which  they  have  been  removed  by  erosion  at  some  comparatively 
recent  period.  In  some  respects  this  deposit  resembles  the  ferru- 
ginous Conglomerate  of  the  Tertiary  that  occurs  along  the  Ohio  river, 


496  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

in  Pulaski  and  Massac  counties,  and  it  is  possible  that  it  may  be  of 
the  %ame  age,  and  owes  its  origin  to  a  similar  cause. 

Near  the  top  of  the  ridge  excavations  have  been  made  before  the 
present  settlement  of  the  country,  perhaps  by  the  Spaniards  or  the 
old  French  inhabitants,  who  no  doubt  carefully  explored  such  por- 
tions of  the  country  as  seemed  likely  to  afford  valuable  deposits  of 
metallic  ores.  This  iron  ore  shows  itself  on  the  southern  extension 
of  the  Iron  Mountain  ridge  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  3, 
township  12,  range  2  west,  and  also  on  the  north  side  of  Clear 
creek,  in  section  27,  township  11,  range  2,  thus  showing  that  it 
originally  extended  over  a  considerable  area. 

Lead  Ore. — The  sulphuret  of  lead,  or  galena,  has  been  found  in 
small  quantities  in  the  cherty  limestones  of  the  Devonian  series. 
On  Huggins  creek,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  1,  township 
11,  range  3  west,  it  has  been  found  near  Mr.  Gregory's.  The  galena 
occurs  here,  associated  with  calc-spar,  filling  small  pockets  in  the 
rock.  Altogether  about  one  hundred  pounds  of  the  mineral  was 
obtained  at  this  locality.  It  is  possible  that  a  pocket  might  be  found 
that  would  yield  a  considerable  quantity  of  ore,  but  the  prospect  is 
not  encouraging  for  successful  mining  operations. 

Potter's  Clay. — Good  potttr's  clay  occurs  at  several  localities  in 
Union  county.  On  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  2,  township  12 
south,  range  2  west,  a  very  fine  white  pipe  clay  is  found,  which  is  used 
at  the  pottery  in  Anna,  for  the  manufacture  of  common  stoneware,  by 
mixing  with  a  common  clay  found  near  the  town.  This  pipe  clay 
is  nearly  white  in  color,  with  streaks  of  purple  through  it,  and 
appears  from  its  colors  to  have  been  derived  from  the  striped  shales 
known  locally  in  this  part  of  the  State  as  "Calico  Bock."  Except 
for  the  coloring  matter  which  it  contains,  this  clay  seems  to  be  of 
a  quality  suited  for  the  manufacture  of  a  fine  article  of  white  ware. 
On  the  eastern  slope  of  Bald  Knob  a  fine  siliceous  clay  is  found, 
similar  in  appearance  to  that  forming  what  is  known  as  the  Chalk 
Banks,  on  the  Mississippi,  which  has  resulted  apparently  from  the 
decomposition  of  the  cherty  beds  of  the  Oriskany  group.  The  striped 
clay  first  mentioned  has  been  found  at  several  localities  in  this 
county,  and  will  no  doubt  prove  to  be  a  valuable  deposit.  Speci- 
mens have  been  collected  for  analysis,  and  its  constituents  will  soon 
be  accurately  determined. 

Building  Materials. — Building  stones  of  excellent  quality  and  in 
great  variety  abound  in  this  county.  Sandstones  of  excellent  quality 
occur  abundantly  in  the  arenaceous  division  of  the  Chester  group, 
and  especially  in  the  lower  division,  which  is  here  more  than  a 


UNION   COUNTY.  497 

hundred  feet  in  thickness.  The  rock  is  generally  firm  in  its  texture, 
and  the  oxide  of  iron  which  it  contains  acts  as  a  durable  cement, 
and  renders  it  a  very  reliable  stone,  not  only  for  dry  walls,  but  for 
culverts  and  bridge  abutments,  where  it  will  be  subject  to  the  com- 
bined action  of  frost  and  water.  It  is  sometimes  thin  bedded,  and 
affords  slabs  suitable  for  flags.  At  other  localities  it  is  more  mas- 
sive, and  readily  splits  into  blocks  suitable  for  dimension  stone. 
But  all  sandstones  required  for  heavy  masonry,  and  especially 
where  they  are  required  to  resist  the  combined  action  of  frost  and 
water,  should  be  selected  with  care,  and  always  from  that  portion 
of  the  quarry  where  the  exposed  ledges  are  not  seriously  affected 
by  exposure  to  atmospheric  agencies.  The  Conglomerate  sandstone 
is  generally  less  coherent  in  structure  than  the  sandstone  of  the 
Chester  series,  and  is  far  less  reliable  as  a  building  stone,  but  occa- 
sionally it  is  found  in  regular  beds,  and  sufficiently  firm  in  texture 
for  ordinary  building  purposes. 

The  St.  Louis  limestone  affords  a  good  building  material,  espe- 
cially the  upper  and  lower  divisions.  At  the  quarries  a  half  mile 
west  of  Jonesboro,  the  rock  is  a  massive,  nearly  white  limestone, 
free  from  chert,  and  dresses  well,  and  in  a  dry  wall  will  probably 
prove  to  be  durable,  but  splits  when  used  for  curbing,  or  wherever 
it  is  subject  to  the  action  of  frost  and  water.  The  middle  of  this 
division  is  a  dark  gray,  cherty  limestone,  that  might  answer  well 
for  rough  walls,  but  would  not  dress  well  in  consequence  of  the 
cherty  matter  so  generally  disseminated  through  it.  The  upper  divi- 
sion, quarried  east  of  Anna,  is  a  light  gray,  massive  limestone, 
tolerably  free  from  chert,  and  in  quality  similar  to  the  quarry  rock 
a  half  a  mile  west  of  Jonesboro.  The  Chester  limestone,  when  not 
too  argillaceous  in  their  character,  afford  good  building  stones,  and 
the  dark  blue,  semi-crystalline  limestone  in  the  vicinity  of  Cobden 
which  forms  the  upper  division  of  the  series,  affords  a  good  material 
for  heavy  work,  and  has  been  used  for  culverts  at  several  points 
along  the  Central  railroad. 

Limestone  for  Lime. — The  best  limestone  for  the  manufacture  of 
quick  lime,  is  found  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  St.  Louis  group, 
and  is  extensively  quarried  a  half  mile  east  of  Anna,  where  several 
kilns  are  constantly  in  operation.  The  rock  is  a  crystalline,  and 
partly  oolitic,  light  gray  limestone,  nearly  a  pure  carbonate  of  lime 
in  its  composition,  and  makes  a  fine  white  lime,  similar  in  quality 
to  the  Alton  lime,  made  from  the  same  formation.  The  Cairo  market, 
—32 


498  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

and  the  several  towns  along  the  Illinois  Central  railroad,  are  mainly 
supplied  with  lime  from  this  locality.  This  vicinity  could  easily 
supply  the  whole  of  Southern  Illinois  with  the  indispensable  article. 
It  is  probable,  also,  that  some  of  the  limestones  of  the  Devonian 
series  might  be  made  available  for  the  manufacture  of  lime;  but 
they  seem  to  be. more  siliceous  in  their  composition  than  the  lime- 
stone near  Anna,  and  are,  furthermore,  not  so  easily  accessible. 
The  limestones  of  the  Chester  group,  at  many  points,  are  suitable 
for  the  manufacture  of  good  lime,  and  there  are  many  localities  in 
that  portion  of  the  county  where  they  outcrop,  where  lime  can  be 
conveniently  and  cheaply  made.  The  lime  made  from  these  beds, 
however,  is  not  equal  to  that  obtained  from  the  St.  Louis  limestone, 
.being  of  a  yellowish  color,  and  some  of  the  beds  do  not  slack  well 
when  burned. 

Marbles. — The  variegated  limestones  occurring  at  the  base  of  the 
lower  Helderberg  series  have  already  been  described  in  the  report 
on  Alexander  county,  and  their  adaptation  to  the  various  uses  for 
which  an  ornamental  stone  is  required,  has  been  briefly  discussed. 
These  limestones,  presenting  similar  lithological  characters,  were 
observed  at  the  base  of  the  bluff  near  the  point  where  the  road  from 
Clear  creek,  leading  to  Jonesboro,  strikes  the  river  bluff,  not  far 
from  the  south  line  of  the  county,  and  they  will  no  doubt  be  found 
at  many  points  in  this  vicinity.  The  variegated  beds  appeared  to 
attain  a  thickness  of  about  twenty  feet  at  this  locality,  and  pass 
gradually  into  the  siliceous  limestones  above.  The  Clear  creek  lime- 
stone, of  the  Devonian  series,  also  affords,  at  some  localities,  heavy 
beds  of  nearly  pure  white,  or  delicate  grayish-white,  crystalline  lime- 
stone, that  is  susceptible  of  receiving  and  retaining  a  high  polish, 
and  seems  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  use  of  the  marble-worker. 
These  occur  on  Huggins  creek,  on  sections  12  and  14,  and  also  on 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  13,  township  11  south,  range  3  west. 
The  rock  weathers  somewhat  unevenly,  giving  a  flawed  appearance 
to  a  long  exposed  surface ;  but  by  quarrying  into  the  bed  beyond 
the  influence  of  surface  agencies,  a  sound  and  excellent  marble 
would  no  doubt  be  found.  These  outcrops  are  from  eight  to  ten 
miles  distant  from  Cobden,  on  the  Central  railroad,  and  three  or 
four  miles  from  the  Big  Muddy  river.  The  beds  are  no  doubt  the 
equivalent  to  those  at  Bald  Rock  and  the  lower  end  of  the  Backbone, 
in  Jackson  county,  to  be  described  in  the  following  chapter. 

Clay  for  brick  and  Sand  for  mortar  can  be  found  in  almost  any 
neighborhood  in  the  county.  The  common  brown  clays  ^of  the  sub- 


UNION    COUNTY.  493 

soil  in  this  county  make  good  brick,  and  sand  is  found  in  all  the 
alluvial  deposits  along  the  streams,  and  especially  where  sandstone 
is  the  prevailing  rock. 

Mill-stones. — The  enormous  masses  of  chert  rock  contained  in  the 
Clear  Creek  limestones  afford,  at  some  points,  a  burr-stone  that 
appears  to  be  nearly,  if  not  quite  equal  in  quality  to  the  celebrated 
French  burr-stones  so  extensively  used  for  mill-stones  in  this  country. 
Some  of  the  specimens  obtained  here  seem  to  possess  the  requisite 
hardness  and  porosity,  and  some  mill-stones  have  been  obtained 
from  the  chert  beds  at  Bald  Knob  that  are  said  to  have  answered  a 
good  purpose,  and  were  used  in  the  neighboring  mills.  But  these 
were  made  from  the  rock  that  had  been  long  exposed  at  the  surface, 
and  perhaps  were  not  taken  even  from  the  best  part  of  that;  while 
the  beds  lying  beyond  the  reach  of  atmospheric  influences  have  not 
been  tested.  For  grinding  corn,  these  home-manufactured  stones 
have  answered  a  good  purpose,  doing  their  work  rapidly  and  well. 
For  grinding  wheat,  their  value  has  not  yet  been  fairly  tested. 

Grind-stones. — Some  of  the  evenly  bedded  sandstones  of  the  Ches- 
ter group,  and  especially  the  lower  bed  of  the  series,  is  frequently 
developed  in  thin,  even  layers,  that  could  be  readily  manufactured 
into  grindstones.  The  rock  has  a  fine,  sharp  grain,  and  if  too  soft 
when  freshly  quarried,  would  probably  harden  sufficiently  on  exposure 
to  give  them  the  necessary  durability.  Some  beds  of  the  Conglom- 
erate sandstone  also  have  a  sharp  grit,  and  when  sufficiently  com- 
pact in  texture  and  even  bedded,  will  make  good  grind-stones. 

Mineral  Springs. — At  Western  Saratoga,  in  this  county,  there  is  a 
mineral  spring  in  the  Chester  limestone,  which  has  attained  some 
celebrity  in  the  surrounding  country  for  its  medicinal  properties.  It 
is  located  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section  1,  township  12  south, 
range  1  west,  and  appears  to  be  a  tolerably  strong  sulphur  water, 
and  contains,  besides  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  a  small  quantity  of 
sulphate  of  lime,  carbonate  of  soda,  chloride  of  sodium,  and  perhaps 
a  little  alumina  and  magnesia.  The  water  is  said  to  be  a  specific 
for  dyspepsia  and  chronic  diseases  of  the  skin.  It  is  also  said  to 
be  beneficial  in  cases  of  scrofula.  The  water  is  strongest  during 
the  dry  season  of  the  year,  being  then  less  affected  by  the  admix- 
ture of  surface  water. 

Near  Seminary  Fork  of  Clear  creek,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  22,  township  11  south,  range  2  west,  a  strong  spring  boils 
up,  from  which  bubbles  of  gas,  probably  carbonic  acid  gas,  rise  con- 
tinually. The  water  does  not  appear  to  possess  any  decided  mineral 
properties,  but  evidently  originates  from  a  deep  source,  as  it  pre- 


500  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

serves  an  even  temperature  throughout  the  year.  The  strata  are 
strongly  tilted  in  this  vicinity,  and  this  spring  appears  to  rise  to 
the  surface  through  the  fissures,  formed  by  the  disturbing  cause  that 
elevated  the  underlying  rocks. 

Agriculture,  Soils,  etc.—  The  topographical  features  of  this  county 
are  quite  varied,  and  are  determined  by  the  outcrops  of  the  dif- 
ferent geological  formations  within  its*limits.  A  tract  of  alluvial 
bottom  land,  from  two  to  three  miles  in  width,  stretches  along  the 
western  borders  of  the  county  through  its  whole  extent,  and  some 
quite  narrow  bottoms  are  also  found  on  the  lower  courses  of  some 
of  the  largest  creeks.  In  the  very  broken  region  where  the  lower 
Helderberg  and  the  Clear  Creek  limestones  outcrop,  the  arable  land 
is  restricted  almost  entirely  to  the  creek  valleys.  The  region  under- 
laid by  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestone  series,  although  somewhat 
hilly,  is  nevertheless  generally  susceptible  of  cultivation,  and  consti- 
tutes the  best  grain-growing  section  of  the  county.  The  sandstones, 
limestones  and  shales  forming  this  series,  from  the  decomposition 
of  which  the  soil  has  been  formed,  contain  all  the  essential  mineral 
ingredients  necessary  to  the  production  of  a  soil  physically  and 
chemically  well  proportioned,  and  we  find  these  lands  productive 
in  cotton,  tobacco,  wheat,  corn  and  all  the  products  of  a  temperate 
climate.  The  sandstones  and  arenaceous  shales  have  furnished 
sufficient  sand  to  make  the  soil  warm  and  mellow,  the  argillaceous 
shales  have  furnished  clay  to  make  it  attract  and  retain  moisture 
and  ammonia,  the  limestones  the  necessary  lime  to  decompose  the 
organic  matter,  and  to  set  at  liberty  the  alkaline  bases,  and  to 
supply  the  phosphates  and  other  salts  which  are  the  indispensable 
ingredients  of  a  productive  soil.  The  soil  and  subsoil  are  very  sim- 
ilar to  each  other,  except  that  the  former  is  a  little  more  disin- 
tegrated, and  contains  more  vegetable  matter  or  humus.  Both  are 
finely  arenaceous,  but  less  so  than  the  post-oak  soils  of  the  country 
farther  north,  and  is  sufficiently  coarse  to  make  it  light,  and  to 
produce  a  natural  drainage  by  the  absorption  of  surplus  water, 
where  the  surface  is  too  level  to  turn  the  water  readily.  The  mag- 
nificent growth  of  timber,  consisting  mainly  of  deep-rooted  species, 
which  originally  covered  the  surface  of  this  limestone  region,  is  due 
mainly  to  the  physical  and  chemical  characters  of  the  soil  above 
mentioned,  which  render  it  also  admirably  adapted  to  the  growth  of 
fruit  trees,  and  the  production  of  all  varieties  of  fruits  suited  to  the 
climate. 

One  of  the  finest  fruit  regions  in  the  State  is  the  summit  of  the 
sandstone  ridge  already  described  as  traversing  the  northern  portion 


UNION.  COUNTY.  501 

of  this  county,  and  forming  the  water-shed  separating  the  streams 
running  north  into  the  Big  Muddy,  from  those  running  south  into 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  The  ridge  has  an  elevation  of  five  or  six 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Ohio  at  Cairo,  and  on  its  south- 
ern face  presents  a  series  of  perpendicular  cliffs  like  those  bordering 
our  present  rivers.  Towards  the  north  it  sends  off  spurs  along  the 
courses  of  the  small  streams  by  which  it  is  intersected,  or  is  joined 
by  more  gentle  slopes  to  the  adjacent  highlands.  It  was  originally 
covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber,  consisting  mainly  of  oak  and 
hickory,  but  has  recently  been  transformed  from  a  wilderness  into 
fruitful  farms,  with  orchards  and  vineyards,  such  as  delight  the  eye 
and  gladden  the  heart  of  all  true  worshippers  at  the  shrine  of 
Pomona. 

In  the  spring  of  1852  I  undertook  to  make  a  reconnoissance  of  this 
ridge,  from  the  Big  Muddy  to  the  Ohio,  through  what  was  then  an 
almost  unbroken  wilderness,  and  on  foot  and  alone,  with  hammer  in 
hand,  I  traversed  this  wild  and  picturesque  region,  reaching  the 
Ohio  in  eight  days  after  leaving  Big  Muddy.  The  only  signs  of  civ- 
ilization to  be  met  with  then,  in  this  region,  was  a  log  cabin  now 
and  then,  occupied  by  some  squatter's  family  from  East  Tennessee 
or  North  Carolina,  who  imagined  themselves  entirely  secure  in  this 
wilderness  from  the  encroachments  of  a  higher  civilization.  But  the 
squatter  planted  a  few  peaches  about  his  cabin,  and  when  the  Illi- 
nois Central  railroad  was  built,  and  settlers  began  to  flock  into  this 
long  neglected  region,  they  observed  that  when  the  peach  failed 
everywhere  else  north  of  the  Ohio  river,  the  orchards  on  this  sand- 
stone ridge  always  produced  an  abundant  crop.  Hence,  the  atten- 
tion of  fruit-growers  was  naturally  drawn  to  this  region,  now  brought 
within  a  day's  travel  of  the  Chicago  market;  and  the  result  has 
been  that  these  lands,  which,  in  1852,  were  not  considered  worth  the 
government  price  of  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  an  acre,  are  now  readily 
sold  at  from  $150  to  $200  per  acre,  and  are  owned  and  occupied  by 
the  most  intelligent  and  refined  rural  population  that  can  be  found 
in  the  West.  This  is  undoubtedly  the  finest  fruit  region  in  the  State, 
and  more  fruit  is  annually  shipped  from  Cobden  than  from  any  other 
station  on  the  road,  and  the  annual  products  of  the  orchards  and 
vineyards  of  this  county  must  steadily  »and  rapidly  increase  for  years 
to  come. 


CHAPTER     XX. 

JACKSON    COUNTY. 

This  county  lies  immediately  north  of  Union  county,  which  forms 
its  southern  boundary,  and  on  the  east  it  is  bounded  by  Williamson 
and  Franklin  counties,  on  the  north  by  Perry  county,  and  on  the 
west  by  Eandolph  county  and  the  Mississippi  river.  It  embraces  an 
area  of  about  five  hundred  and  eighty  square  miles,  of  which  some- 
thing over  one  hundred  is  alluvial  bottom  land  on  the  Mississippi. 
The  county  line  which  separates  this  county  from  Eandolph  on  the 
northwest,  runs  from  northeast  to  southwest,  along  the  dividing 
ridge  between  Kinkaid  creek  and  Mary's  river.  This  county  reaches 
northeastward  to  the  borders  of  the  prairie  region,  and  embraces  two 
or  three  small  prairies  within  its  limits,  while  the  remainder  of  the 
county  was  originally  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber. 

The  bottom  lands  along  the  Mississippi  are  in  part  low  and  wet, 
while  other  portions  as  sufficiently  dry  to  admit  of  cultivation,  and 
are  very  productive,  though  subject  to  overflow  during  the  annual 
spring  floods.  Some  of  the  low  lands  are  too  wet  for  the  growth  of 
arboreal  vegetation,  and  are  covered  with  coarse  grass  and  ponds  of 
water.  The  higher  parts  of  the  bottoms  are  covered  with  a  heavy 
growth  of  timber,  among  which  we  observed  the  following  species : 
Willow,  sweet-gum,  tupelo-gum,  sycamore,  cotton-wood,  honey  locust, 
hackberry,  box-elder,  red  birch,  white  ash,  black  ash,  red  oak,  swamp 
or  pin  oak,  swamp  white  oak,  bur  oak,  white  walnut,  pecan,  horn 
beam,  persimmon,  red  haw,  mulberry,  scaly-bark  hickory,  sed  and 
white  elm,  white  and  sugar  maple,  red  bud,  dogwood,  pignut  hick- 
ory, scarlet  oak,  linden,  beech,  white  oak,  black  oak,  black  gum, 
yellow  poplar,  or  tulip  tree,  etc. 

The  country  adjacent  to  the  river  bluffs  is  roughly  broken  and 
hilly,  and  the  bluffs  themselves  often  present  high  rocky  precipices, 
rising  in  bold  relief  from  the  river  bottoms  to  the  height  of  two  or 
three  hundred  feet,  and  form  a  bold  picturesque  scenery.  The  main 


JACKSON    COUNTY.  503 

chain  of  bluffs  is  about  five  miles  from  the  river,  with  a  broad  belt 
of  bottom  land  intervening,  but  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of 
the  county  there  is  another  range  of  bluffs  immediately  at  the  river 
bank,  formed  by  some  isolated  hills  that  have  successfully  withstood 
the  denuding  forces  which  excavated  the  broad  valley  now  in  part 
occupied  by  the  Mississippi  river.  These  hills  are  known  as  "Foun- 
tain Bluff,"  "Devil's  Bake  Oven,"  and  "Back-bone,"  and  the  two 
latter  are  formed  by  an  uplift  of  Devonian  strata,  which  are  here 
tilted  to  an  angle  of  about  25°,  dipping  to  the  northeastward,  while 
the  former  consists  in  part  of  Chester  limestone  and  sandstone,  over- 
laid by  the  Conglomerate,  with  a  very  moderate  dip  in  the  same 
direction. 

Fountain  Bluff  or  "Big  Hill,"  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  is  an  oval- 
shaped  eminence,  about  three  miles  in  length,  from  north  to  south, 
and  about  one  mile  and  a  half  in  width.  Its  base  is  formed  of  the 
lower  Carboniferous  limes-tone  of  the  Chester  series  which  outcrops 
around  its  western  and  southern  slope,  and  its  upper  part  by  the 
Conglomerate,  the  lower  layers  of  which,  at  the  northern  extremity 
of  the  hill  dip  below  the  level  of  the  adjacent  bottom,  while  the 
higher  beds  form  an  elevation  of  two  hundred  feet  or  more  above  the 
river  level.  Between  the  lower  end  of  this  hill  and  the  "Bake  Oven," 
there  is  an  interval  of  half  a  mile  or  more  of  bottom  land  which, 
before  the  erosion  of  the  river  valley,  was  no  doubt  occupied  by  the 
lower  Carboniferous  and  Devonian  strata  that  properly  intervene 
between  the  beds  now  outcropping  at  the  "Bake  Oven"  and  the 
southern  extremity  of  Fountain  Bluff. 

Between  these  hills  which  now  skirt  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  the  regular  chain  of  river  bluffs  which  skirt  the  bottom 
lands  on  the  east,  there  exists  a  broad  belt  of  low,  wet  bottom,  five 
miles  in  width,  and  mostly  covered  with  ponds  of  water,  except  in 
the  very  dryest  portions  of  the  season,  and  over  which  for  countless 
ages  rolled  the  mighty  currents  that  formed  the  valley  in  which  the 
turpid  waters  of  the  Mississippi  now  find  their  way  to  the  gulf. 
From  the  fact  that  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  are  restricted  to  an 
area  much  less  than  its  average  wicfth,  at  what  is  called  the  Grand 
Tower,  and  are  hemmed  in  by  precipitous  limestone  bluffs  on  either 
side,  the  theory  has  been  entertained  that  at  a  former  period  these 
limestone  cliffs  extended  quite  across  the  river,  forming  an  immense 
fall  which  has  been  gradually  cut  away  by  the  current  of  the  river ; 
but  the  ingenious  author  of  this  apparently  plausible  theory  was 
probably  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  a  valley  five  miles  in  width, 
within  a  half  mile  of  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river,  through  which 


504  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  surplus  water  of  the  river  now  flows  during  every  period  of  high- 
water,  and  into  which  the  whole  current  of  the  river  would  be  turned 
by  the  introduction  of  any  considerable  impediment  into  its  present 
channel.'  The  whole  valley,  including  the  narrow  gorge  in  which  the 
river  now  runs,  was  formed  long  before  the  existence  of  the  present 
river,  and  by  causes  far  more  potent  than  an  ordinary  river  current, 
and  was  probably  effected  during  a  former  submergence  of  the  entire 
region,  by  the  combined  force  of  water  currents  and  moving  ice ;  the 
same  agencies  which  have  excavated  all  our  principal  river  valleys. 

The  main  chain  of  bluffs  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county  is  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Big  Muddy,  which  enters  the  Mississippi  bot- 
tom in  the  northern  part  of  township  9  south,  range  3  west,  and 
from  this  point  the  river  winds  along  the  eastern  borders  of  the 
bottom,  near  the  bluffs,  to  the  south  line  of  the  county,  in  a  direc- 
tion nearly  south,  in  accordance  with  the  general  trend  of  the  bluffs. 
To  the  northward  of  the  point  where  the  Big  Muddy  enters  the  bot- 
tom, the  trend  of  the  bluffs  is  northwestward  to  the  Randolph  county 
line. 

Geological  Formations. 

The  geological  structure  of  this  county  includes  a  wide  range  of 
formations,  embracing  an  aggregate  thickness  of  about  two  thousand 
seven  hundred  feet  of  strata,  and  ranging  from  the  top  of  the  lower 
Coal  Measures  down  through  the  Conglomerate,  the  lower  Carbonif- 
erous and  Devonian,  to  the  base  of  the  upper  Silurian  series,  and 
thus  affords  a  wide  and  varied  field  for  exploration,  such  as  is 
afforded  by  few  counties  in  the  State.  The  Devonian  beds  at  the 
"Bake  Oven"  were  the  first  recognized  rocks  of  this  age  in  the  State, 
and  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  strata,  and  the  bold  and  pictur- 
esque scenery  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  at  this  locality,  have  ren- 
dered this  one  of  the  most  attractive  localities  for  the  tourist,  as  well 
as  the  geologist,  to  be  met  with  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  State. 

The  Grand  Tower,  which  is  an  isolated  cliff  of  limestone,  standing 
out  and  forming  an  island  in  the  river  nearly  a  hundred  feet  above 
the  low-water  level,  has  long  been  a  conspicuous  land-mark  for  the 
traveler  on  the  Lower  Mississippi. 

The  following  section  will  illustrate  the  geological  structure  of  this 
county,  and  the  order  of  sequence  and  thickness  of  the  different 
groups  of  rocks  found  within  its  limits : 


JACKSON   COUNTY. 


505 


Perpendicular  Section  of  the  Rocks  in  Jackson  County. 


a 
5 


200. 


500  to  600. 


o 


800. 


250. 


150. 


100. 


40  to  75. 


20  to  30. 


60. 


200. 


Alluvium,  Loess  and  Drift. 


Lower  Coal  Measures,  consisting  of  sandstones,  shales,  slates, 
thin  beds  of  limestone,  with  three  or  more  seams  of  coal,  rang- 
ing from  two  and  a  half  to  four  feet  in  thickness. 

Conglomerate:  Quartzose  sandstone,  often  massive,  and  includ- 
ing pebbles  of  quartz,  passing  upward  into  thin-bedded,  soft, 
micaceous  sandst9nes;  the  whole  series  ranging  from  five  to  six 
hundred  feet  in  thickness,  including  the  Coal  Measures. 


Chester  Group:    Gray  and  brown  argillaceous  limestones,  alter- 
nating with  sandstone  and  sandy  or  argillaceous  shales. 


St.  Louis  Group:    Light  gray  limestone. 
Keokuk  Group:    Cherty  gray  limestone. 

Burlington  Limestone;    Brown  crinoidal  limestone. 
Kinderhook  Group?    Not  exposed. 
Black  Slate?    Not  exposed. 

Hamilton  Group:    Gray  limestone,  with  intercalations  of  calca- 
reous shales. 

Corniferous  limestone. 

Onondaga Limestone:  Light  gray  siliceous  limestone,  sandstone, 
and  striped  siliceous  shales. 

Oriskany  Group :  Clear  Creek  limestone,  consisting  of  alternations 
of  limestone  and  chert.passing  locally  into  a  complete  chert  ro  ck. 

Band  of  brown  shale. 


Lower  Helderberg  Limestones;    Buff  and  gray  magnesian  lime- 
stones, in  thin  beds,  alternating  with  chert. 


506  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  lower  divisions  of  the  foregoing  section  onlcrop  only  over  a 
very  limited  area  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  county,  where 
they  are  elevated  above  the  surface  level  by  the  uplift  which  crosses 
the  river  about  three  miles  above  the  south  line  of  the  county,  with 
a  trend  from  northwest  to  southeast. 

We  will  now  describe  the  general  character,  thickness  and  extent 
of  outcrop  of  the  formations  that  are  developed  in  this  county,  be- 
ginning with  the  lowest: 

Lower  Helderberg  Limestone. — This  formation  outcrops  only  in  the 
river  bluff  near  the  » south  line  of  the  county,  commencing  near 
"Bald  Kock,"  and  extending  south  from  there  into  Union  county. 
It  has  been  fully  described  in  the  foregoing  chapter  on  that  county, 
and  the  description  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

Oriskany  Group. — This  group  consists  of  a  series  of  cherty,  sili- 
ceous limestones,  and  light  gray,  massive  crystalline  limestone,  the 
whole  attaining  an  aggregate  thickness  of  at  least  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  It  forms  the  prominent  hill  known  as  "Bald  Rock,"  on 
the  Big  Muddy,  and  from  that  point  it  forms  the  upper  part  of  the 
bluffs  to  the  south  line  of  the  county.  "Bald  Rock"  is  a  bold,  rocky 
precipice,  rising  abruptly  from  the  water  level  to  a  height  of  at  least 
two  hundred  feet,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Big  Muddy,  the  waters 
of  which  wash  its  base.  The  upper  part  of  the  exposure,  for  a 
thickness  of  a  hundred  feet  or  more,  consists  of  heavy  beds  of  lime- 
stone, partly  cherty  and  siliceous,  while  other  portions  are  composed 
of  white,  or  light  gray  and  drab  crystalline  limestone,  quite  hard, 
and  apparently  susceptible  of  receiving  a  high  polish,  and  adapted 
to  the  ordinary  uses  of  the  marble  worker.  It  is  only  a  limited 
thickness  of  strata,  however,  that  are  of  this  character,  while  the 
most  of  the  layers  are  too  hard  and  siliceous,  not  sufficiently  uni- 
form in  texture,  and  rather  cherty  to  work  well,  except  for  rough 
walls.  The  lower  part  of  the  exposure  here  consists  of  a  loose, 
porous  chert  rock,  similar  in  all  respects  to  that  so  fully  described 
as  belonging  to  this  horizon  in  Union  county.  At  the  lower  end  of 
the  "Back-bone"  these  beds  are  also  exposed,  and  consist,  in  part, 
of  massive  crystalline  limestone,  variously  colored,  and  streaked 
with  pink,  yellowish  and  blue,  and  when  polished,  they  form  a  beau- 
tiful marble.  These  massive  beds  attain  a  considerable  thickness, 
but  from  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  strata,  could  not  be  accu- 
rately measured.  They  are  here  underlaid,  also,  by  a  porous,  cherty 
rock,  a  hundred  feet  or  more  in  thickness.  The  calcareous  beds 
abound  in  fossils,  among  which  the  remains  of  Crinoidea  were 
abundant,  consisting  mainly  of  columns  and  plates.  These  beds  are 


JACKSON    COUNTY.  507 

equivalent  of  the  Clear  Creek  limestone,  of  Union  county,  and  pre- 
sent very  similar  characters  to  the  outcrops  already  described  in 
that  county,  except  that  the  massive  calcareous  beds  form  a  more 
conspicuous  feature  at  the  "Bald  Bock"  than  at  any  point  observed 
farther  south,  though  they  are  no  doubt  represented  in  Union  county 
by  the  white  and  bluish-gray  limestones  on  Huggins  creek,  already 
described  in  the  foregoing  chapter. 

Onondaga  Group. — The  arenaceous  beds  which  succeed  these  cherty 
limestones  in  the  ascending  order  occur  at  the  "Bake  Oven"  forming 
the  base  of  the  bluff,  and  at  the  bottom  they  constitute  a  true 
quartzose  sandstone,  while  above  they  consist  of  alternate  layers  of 
sandstone  and  siliceous  limestone,  attaining  altogether  a  thickness 
of  thirty-five  to  forty  feet.  The  fossils  from  this  bed  are  crushed 
and  in  a  poor  condition  for  determination,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
say  positively  whether  they  are  most  nearly  allied  to  the  beds  below 
or  above.  From  the  fact  that  it  becomes  more  and  more  calcareous 
towards  the  top,  and  finally  passes  into  the  light  gray  limestone  of 
the  Onondaga  period  above,  it  would  seem  probable  that  these  are- 
naceous beds  also  might  with  equal  propriety  be  considered  as 
belonging  to  this  higher  division  of  the  Devonian  series.  This  sand- 
stone is  succeeded  by  a  massive  light  gray  semi-crystalline  limestone 
which  forms  the  middle  portion  of  the  perpendicular  cliff  at  the 
"Bake  Oven,"  and  attains  a  maximum  thickness  of  about  twenty-five 
feet.  Its  only  outcrops  are  in  the  river  bluffs  at  the  "Back-bone" 
and  the  "Bake  Oven,"  and  possibly  at  "Bald  Kock,"  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Big  Muddy  river.  The  fossils  characteristic  of  this  limestone 
have  already  been  enumerated  in  the  foregoing  chapter. 

Corniferous  and  Hamilton  Groups. — The  beds  exposed  both  at  the 
"Back-bone"  and  "Bake  Oven"  consist  of  dark  gray,  siliceous,  fetid 
limestones,  with  intercalations  of  calcareous  shales,  attaining  alto- 
gether a  thickness  of  a  hundred  feet  or  more.  These  limestones  are 
well  exposed  at  the  "Bake  Oven,"  where  they  form  the  upper  part 
of  the  perpendicular  escarpment,  and  also  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
"Back-bone,"  where  they  form  the  northern  extremity  of  the  ridge. 
On  top  of  the  ridge,  about  one-third  of  the  distance  from  the  upper 
to  the  lower  end,  there  is  a  bed  of  calcareo-argillaceous  shale,  mostly 
buff-colored,  and  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  thickness.  It  is  prob- 
ably about  the  middle  of  the  series,  though  the  exposures  were  too 
incomplete  to  give  us  an  entire  section.  The  lower  beds  contain 
comparatively  few  fossils  here,  but  have  afforded  several  species, 
among  which  are  a  large  Gomphoceras,  of  which  several  specimens 
were  obtained,  Nautilus  (Discites)  ornatus,  a  large  Strophomena,  a  Para- 


508  ECONOMICAL    GEOLOGY   OF    ILLINOIS. 

cyclas,  like  P.  elliptica  and  Chonetes  Littoni.  The  upper  beds  contain 
the  following  species  :  Chonetes  carinata,  C.  Martini,  C.  pusilla,  Trop- 
idoleptus  carinatus,  Atrypa  reticularis,  Strophomena  rhomboidalis,  S. 
demissa,  S.  fragilis,  Orthis  lowensis,  Spirifer  fornacula,  S,  formosa, 
Phacops  bufo,  and  several  undetermined  species  of  Zaphrentis,  with  a 
few  fragments  of  fishes.  These  limestones  have  only  been  seen  at 
the  two  localities  above  cited,  and  at  the  lower  extremity  of  Walker's 
Hill,  immediately  east  of  the  lower  end  of  the  "Back-bone"  ridge, 
where  only  a  few  feet  in  thickness  of  these  Hamilton  limestones  are 
exposed;  and  on  the  east  side  of  the  Big  Muddy,  where  we  might 
naturally  expect  to  find  them  overlying  the  lower  Devonian  strata 
that  are  so  well  developed  there,  they  have  not  been  seen,  and 
appear  to  have  been  crowded  under  the  superincumbent  limestones 
of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series,  the  result  probably  of  the  dis- 
turbance which  has  elevated  the  Devonian  strata  above  the  surface 
at  this  point. 

All  the  limestones  above  decribed  are  limited  in  their  outcrop  to 
a  very  small  area,  and  are  strictly  confined  to  the  river  bluffs  in 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  county,  and  although  they  attain  an 
aggregate  thickness  of  between  six  and  seven  hundred  feet,  their 
outcrop  does  not  cover  an  area  of  more  than  two  miles  square. 
Above  the  Hamilton  limestone  we  should  expect  to  find  the  usually 
succeeding  Black  Slate,  but  no  exposure  of  it  was  found  in  this 
county,  though  at  the  lower  end  of  Walker's  Hill  we  find,  a  covered 
slope  of  considerable  thickness  immediately  above  the  limestone, 
that  is  probably  underlaid  by  the  shaly  beds  of  this  series,  and 
perhaps  in  part  also  by  the  siliceous  shales  of  the  Kinderhook  group. 

The  beds  forming  this  hill  dip  rapidly  to  the  northward,  and 
between  its  northern  and  southern  extremities  we  find  the  local  out- 
crops of  partially  exposed  beds  that  appear  to  represent  the  whole 
lower  Carboniferous  series,  from  the  Kinderhook  group  to  the  top 
of  the  St.  Louis  limestones  inclusive. 

Burlington  Limestone. — The  outcrop  of  this  formation  already  cited 
is  the  only  one  met  with  in  this  county,  and  the  most  southerly 
one  known  in  the  State.  It  occurs  on  the  western  slope  of  Walker's 
Hill,  nearly  opposite  to  the  lower  end  of  the  "Back-bone"  ridge, 
and  exhibits  only  a  part  of  the  formation,  consisting,  so  far  as  seen, 
of  brown  and  brownish-gray  crinoidal  limestone  in  tolerably  regular 
beds,  and  in  part  in  tumbling  masses  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  This 
exposure  was  not  sufficient  to  afford  an  accurate  measurement,  but 
the  formation  appeared  to  be  at  least  fifty  feet  in  thickness,  and  is 
possibly  considerably  more. 


JACKSON     COUNTY.  509 

Keokuk  and  St.  Louis  Groups. — The  upper  end  of  Walker's  Hill  is 
composed  of  gray  limestones,  which  are  but  partially  exposed  in 
the  outcropping  strata,  or  in  tumbling  masses  on  the  hill-side,  but 
which  are  easily  identified  as  belonging  to  the  groups  above  named. 
The  hill  is  about  half  a  mile  in  length  from  north  to  south,  and 
these  limestones  occupy  the  upper  or  northern  end  of  the  hill, 
with  a  strong  dip  to  the  northward,  which  carries  the  whole  series 
underground  in  a  distance  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  whole 
thickness  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  limestones  outcropping  in  this 
hill  is  probably  not  less  than  four  or  five  hundred  feet.  North  of 
this  hill  there  is  a  valley  of  about  a  half  a  mile  in  width,  separa- 
ting it  from  Fountain  Bluff,  the  lower  end  of  which,  as  we  have 
already  stated,  is  formed  by  the  upper  beds  of  the  Chester  series, 
while  the  lower  beds  of  that  series  were  worn  away  by  the  denuding 
forces  which  excavated  the  intervening  valley.  None  of  the  lime- 
stones above  mentioned,  except  those  of  the  Chester  group,  have 
been  identified  anywhere  in  the  county,  except  in  the  river  bluffs 
near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  county,  and  at  Walker's  Hill, 
which  is  but  a  half  mile  to  the  eastward  of  the  river  bluff.  Their 
outcrop  in  this  county  is  entirely  due  to  the  axis  of  elevation  which 
crosses  the  river  at  this  point,  with  a  general  trend  from  northwest 
to  southeast,  and  intersects  only  the  southwest  corner  of  this  county, 
and  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Big  Muddy  all  the  lower  Carbon- 
iferous series  below  the  Chester  group,  as  well  as  the  upper  part 
of  the  Devonian  series,  were  apparently  crowded  under  the  Chester 
beds,  which  here  immediately  succeed  the  lower  Devonian  strata, 
though  they  are  not  found  resting  upon  them.  Their  outcrop  covers 
an  area  in  this  county  of  scarcely  more  than  two  square  miles. 

Chester  Group. — This  group,  though  not  fully  exposed  in  Jackson 
county,  nevertheless  occupies  a  much  greater  area  than  the  subordin- 
ate groups,  and  outcrops  over  a  surface  of  about  twenty:five  miles 
square,  but  is  confined  to  the  river  bluffs  and  the  valleys  of  some 
of  the  adjacent  streams.  Commencing  on  Digognie  creek,  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  county,  its  upper  divisions  form  the  river 
bluffs,  capped,  in  part,  by  the  Conglomerate,  nearly  down  to  where 
Kincaid  creek  enters  the  Mississippi  bottom,  and  on  the  last  named 
creek,  commencing  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  28,  township 
8  south,  range  3  west,  they  extend  thence  along  the  valley  of  the 
creek,  through  township  8  south,  range  4  west,  and  on  to  some  of 
its  head  branches  in  the  adjoining  township  on  the  west.  They 
also  form  the  valley  of  Digognie  creek,  as  far  as  it  runs  in  this 
county,  and  the  outcrops  on  Reed's  creek  and  Cochran's  creek, 


510  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OP   ILLINOIS. 

nearly  to  their  heads.  Through  township  9  south,  range  3  west, 
the  trend  of  the  bluffs  is  so  far  to  the  eastward  that  these  lime- 
stones are  not  seen,  and  the  bluffs  are  formed  by  the  Conglomerate 
sandstone ;  but  on  section  14,  township  10  south,  range  3  west,  they 
again  come  to  the  surface  and  continue  along  the  bluffs  to  within  about 
two  miles  of  the  county  line,  from  whence  they  trend  off  to  the 
southeastward  into  Union  county.  They  also  appear  on  two  or 
three  of  the  southern  branches  of  Cedar  creek,  and  for  a  short 
distance,  also,  on  the  main  creek  on  section  13,  township  10  south, 
range  3  west.  At  Fountain  Bluff,  on  the  Mississippi,  they  form  the 
base  of  the  hill,  which  is  capped  with  Conglomerate  at  the  lower 
extremity,  while  the  latter  formation  forms  the  entire  elevation  at 
the  northern  end  of  the  hill.  The  following  section,  made  by  Mr. 
ENGELMANN,  at  the  county  line  near  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
county,  probably  exhibits  as  great  a  thickness  of  strata  as  can  be 
found  at  any  locality  in  the  county: 


Section  of  the  River  Bluff's  near  Digognie  Creek. 

No.  2.  Fine-grained  quartzose  sandstone,  partly  exposed  35  feet 

No.  3.  Dark  blui-h-gray  limestone,  siliceous  and  cherty,  probably  the  second  lime- 
stone in  the  series  from  the  top 40    " 

No.  4.  Slope,  partly  underlaid  with  sandy  shales 20    " 

Massive  quartzose  sandstone 40    " 

No.  5.  Limestone,  upper  part  of  the  bed,  only,  exposed 20    " 

The  lower  limestone  in  the  above  section  is  probably  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  upper  bed  at  Chester,  and  its  position  is  consequently 
near  the  middle  of  the  series.  It  is  the  lowest  division  exposed  in 
the  northwestern  portion  of  the  county,  and  perhaps  the  lowest  that 
appears  above  the  surface  in  the  county. 

The  following  is  a  section  of  the  river  bluffs  at  Mr.  WEIGHT'S  place, 
on  the  west  part  of  section  35,  township  8  south,  range  4  west,  and 
gives  a  good  idea  of  the  character  and  thickness  of  the  upper  divi- 
sion of  the  group  in  this  county: 

Quartzose  and  ferruginous  sandstone  (Conglomerate) 5  feet 

No.  1.  Limestone,  upper  part  only  partly  exposed.. 40  " 

No.  2.    Slope,  hidden,  probably  underlaid  with  sandstone 20  " 

White  quartzose  sandstone 46  " 

Slope,  underlaid  with  shales,  interstratifled  with  limestones 41  " 

No.  3.   Dark  gray  siliceous  limestone 8  " 

Slope,  with  masses  of  siliceous  limestone 38  " 

Compact  brown  siliceous  limestone,  not  in  place 3  " 

Slope,  to  high-water  mark 18  " 

This  section  appears  to  include  the  three  upper  divisions  of  the 
Chester  series,  with  an  aggregate  thickness  of  a  little  more  than  two 


JACKSON    COUNTY.  511 

hundred  feet.  A  mile  and  a  half  below  this  point,  on  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  1,  township  9,  range  2,  a  seam  of  carbonaceous 
shale,  with  streaks  of  coal,  may  be  seen  in  the  shales  of  the  upper 
division  of  the  Chester  series.  This  carbonaceous  shale  is  here  about 
eight  inches  thick,  and  is  intercallated  in  argillaceous  shales,  as  seen 
in  the  following  section: 

Conglomerate  sandstone,  capping  the  bluff 30  to  40  feet 

No.  1.   Siliceous  limestone,  partly  exposed 28 

No.  2.    Sandstone  and  sandy  shales 21 

Argillo-arenaceous  shales,  passing  into  argillaceous  shale 22 

Carbonaceous  shale,  with  streaks  of  coal % 

Argillaceous  shale 6 

Massive  sandstone 53 

Slope,  hidden  to  river  level 55 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  representative  of  the  small  seam  of  coal 
that  has  been  observed  in  these  limestones  in  Union,  Johnson  and 
Pope  counties,  and  is  nowhere  of  any  practical  value,  but  only  inter- 
esting from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  first  evidence  presented  in  the 
development  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series,  of  the  existence  of 
true  coal-bearing  conditions.  This  thin  seam  of  coaly  matter  occurs 
at  several  points,  both  in  this  county  and  Randolph,  and  has  given 
rise  to  reports  of  the  existence  of  workable  beds  of  coal  in  this  group 
of  rocks,  which  are  without  any  true  foundation. 

The  upper  sandstone  of  the  Chester  series  is  fully  one  hundred 
feet  in  thickness,  and  is  in  part  massive  and  partly  thin-bedded  and 
shaly,  and  frequently  presents  lines  of  false  stratification,  or  appa- 
rent lines  of  bedding  inclined  at  a  considerable  angle  to  the  true 
stratification  of  the  rock.  The  black  shale  and  coal  mentioned  above 
occurs  in  the  same  relative  position  at  Dr.  HODGES'  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  11,  town  8,  range  4,  and  also  a  mile  further 
south  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  14.  The  upper  limestone, 
or  No.  1  of  the  series,  numbering  them  from  the  top  downwards, 
outcrops  at  several  points  near  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  at  the  head 
of  Digognie  and  Reed's  creeks.  It  is  also  exposed  at  Mr.  GORDON'S, 
on  the  breaks  of  Reed's  creek,  near  the  county  line,  and  is  here 
highly  siliceous  and  interstratified  with  cherty  arenaceous  strata,  and 
is  directly  overlaid  by  the  Conglomerate. 

Kincaid  creek  heads  in  the  Conglomerate,  not  far  from  the  head  of 
Reed's  creek,  but  on  the  eastern  part  of  section  12,  township  8  south, 
range  5  west,  the  creek  valley  intersects  the  upper  limestone  which 
has  here  been  burned  for  limp,  and  it  continues  thence  down  the 
creek  for  several  miles  through  sections  5,  4  and  9,  and  into  sec- 
tion 10.  There  are  some  small  caves  in  the  limestone  here,  and 


512  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

numerous  sink  holes,  and  it  is  intersected  with  veins  of  calcareous 
spar.  Lower  down  on  the  creek,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
3,  blue  argillaceous  shales  outcrop  above  the  limestone,  in  which  are 
embedded  numerous  concretions  of  carbonate  of  iron.  This  shale 
appears  to  be  at  the  base  of  the  Conglomerate.  On  section  24, 
township  8  south,  range  3  west,  a  bed  of  highly  ferruginous  sand- 
stone occurs  which  changes  locally  into  a  brown  hydrous  peroxyd  of 
iron,  somewhat  mixed  with  flint  and  sand,  and  about  a  foot  in  thick- 
ness. This  appeared  to  occupy  about  the  same  position  in  the  strata 
as  the  iron  carbonates  above  mentioned,  that  is,  near  the  base  of 
the  Conglomerate. 

Fountain  Bluff  or  "Big  Hill,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  is  formed 
by  the  upper  division  of  the  Chester  series  and  the  Conglomerate. 
The  former  beds  occupy  the  entire  elevation  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
hill,  but  the  strong  northerly  dip  soon  carries  them  below  the  river 
level,  and  the  upper  or  northern  portion  is  composed  entirely  of  the 
Conglomerate.  At  the  base  of  the  hill,  on  the  south  and  south- 
eastern side,  siliceous  limestones,  interspersed  with  shales,  are  seen, 
and  these  are  overlaid  by  a  massive  sandstone,  forming  a  cliff 
eighty  feet  in  height.  Still  higher  up  are  partial  outcrops  of  shaly 
limestone,  with  Archimedes  and  other  characteristic  fossils  of  this 
series,  and  still  higher  the  sandstones  of  the  Conglomerate.  From 
these  observations  it  would  seem  that  we  have  at  the  lower  extremity 
of  this  hill  the  three  upper  divisions  of  the  Chester  group,  embrac- 
ing two  limestones  and  a  sandstone.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  hill 
the  Conglomerate  forms  the  entire  exposure,  and  rises  in  towering 
cliffs  120  feet  at  least  above  the  adjacent  river  bottoms. 

Below  the  mouth  of  Cedar  creek,  at  Herald's  old  mill,  a  few  feet 
in  thickness  of  the  upper  limestone  of  this  series  was  seen  overlaid 
by  heavy  beds  of  Conglomerate,  and  from  this  point  it  gradually 
rises'  in  descending  the  bluffs,  in  consequence  of  their  more  western 
trend.  Approaching  Bald  Eock  the  dip  increases,  and  near  the 
mouth  of  Eattlesnake  creek  the  beds  dip  northeast  at  an  angle  of 
thirty  degrees.  This  is  the  most  southerly  outcrop  of  these  lime- 
stones in  the  river  bluffs,  and  from  this  point  they  trend  off  to  the 
southeast  into  Union  county. 

The  most  easterly  outcrop  of  these  limestones  in  Jackson  county 
is  on  the  upper  course  of  Cedar  creek,  near  Williams'  mill,  on  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  35,  township  10  south,  range  2  west. 
At  this  point  the  lowest  strata  exposed,  consist  of  a  dark  gray, 
uncrystalline,  hard  and  brittle  limestone,  which  are  succeeded  by 
brownish-gray,  argillaceous  and  sub-crystalline  limestone,  the  whole 


JACKSON    COUNTY.  513 

forming  a  bed  forty  feet  or  more  in  thickness.  The  fossils  observed 
here  were  :  Productus  elegans,  P.  pileiformis,  Athyris  ambigua,  an  Ortho- 
ceratite,  etc.  The  mill  is  driven  by  a  spring  which  issues  from  the 
limestones  near  the  top  of  the  exposure,  and  it  appears  to  have  a 
subterranean  connection  with  the  western  branch  of  the  creek,  as 
the  flow  of  water  from  the  spring  is  apparently  governed  by  the 
amount  of  water  in  this  branch. 

It  is  probable  that  all  the  outcrops  of  Chester  limestones  observed 
in  this  county  belong  to  the  upper  divisions  of  the  series,  and  that 
the  lower  members  are  now  entirely  hidden  in  the  valleys  that  inter- 
vene between  these  outcrops  and  the  older  formations.  From  their 
general  similarity  in  lithological  characters  and  the  wide  range  of 
the  characteristic  fossils  of  the  group  through  the  whole  series,  it  is 
difficult  to  decide  to  what  part  of  the  series  an  outcrop  of  limestone 
belongs,  unless  the  associated  beds  are  also  well  exposed,  so  that 
its  position  can  be  determined  by  the  sequence  of  the  strata. 

Conglomerate. — The  term  Conglomerate  Sandstone,  or  Millstone- 
grit,  is  used  to  designate  a  thick  bed  of  sandstone  that  lies  at  the 
base  of  the  Coal  Measures,  and  as  it  also  contains  local  develop- 
ments of  coal  sufficiently  important  to  be  worked  profitably  at  some 
points,  it  may  properly  be  considered  as  the  base  of  the  true  coal- 
bearing  rocks.  Through  all  the  counties  that  border  the  Illinois 
coal  field  south  of  Eandolph,  this  formation  is  largely  developed, 
attaining  a  thickness  of  two,  or  sometimes,  perhaps,  as  much  as 
three  hundred  feet.  It  consists  of  quartzose  sandstone,  mostly  nearly 
white,  but  sometimes  colored  by  ferruginous  matter,  and  frequently 
contains  rounded  pebbles  of  quartz  rock,  from  the  size  of  a  pea  to 
those  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter.  When  ferruginous,  it 
weathers  very  unevenly,  and  leaves  a  hard  brown  crust  upon  its 
surface,  formed  of  sand,  cemented  by  the  brown  oxide  of  iron. 
Where  the  quartz  pebbles  are  abundant,  the  finer  materials  disin- 
tegrate from  around  them  on  the  exposed  surface,  and  leave  them 
projecting  from  the  perpendicular  walls  of  sandstone,  like  partly 
embedded  cannon  balls.  Locally  it  passes  into  shales  or  thin  bedded 
limestones,  and  it  contains  thin  beds  of  argillaceous  shales.  The 
sandstones  are  sometimes  soft,  and  decompose  readily  on  exposure 
to  the  atmosphere,  and  again  are  more  compact  and  harden  slightly 
on  exposure,  and  such  outcrops  form  towering  cliffs  and  bold  escarp- 
ments in  agreeable  contrast  to  the  usual  monotony  of  the  more 
level  landscapes. 


514  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  Abneyville  Rock  is  a  prominent  cliff  of  this  sandstone,  about 
a  mile  in  length,  situated  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Big  Muddy 
river,  which  washes  its  base.  It  is  situated  in  sections  23  and  26, 
township  9  south,  range  3  west,  and  is  only  about  thirty  feet  in 
height  above  the  river  level.  Swallow  Rock  is  another  prominent 
bluff  of  the  Conglomerate  on  the  Big  Muddy,  beginning  near  the 
center  of  section  35,  and  extending  for  some  distance  to  the  south- 
ward. At  its  northern  extremity  it  forms  an  overhanging  cliff  of 
sandstone  sixty  feet  high,  increasing  in  elevation  to  the  southward, 
until  on  section  2,  township  10  south,  range  3  west,  it  attains  a 
perpendicular  height  of  more  than  two  hundred  feet  above  the  river. 
Figure  House  Rock  is  a  cliff  of  sandstone  on  Cedar  creek,  about  half 
a  mile  above  its  mouth,  remarkable  only  for  the  rude  figures  carved 
on  it  by  the  former  inhabitants  of  the  country.  These  consist  for 
the  most  part  of  rude  figures  of  the  human  form,  with  others  re- 
sembling bird  tracks,  arrow  heads,  etc. 

At  the  top  of  the  Conglomerate  there  is  usually  a  seam  of  coal  that 
averages  about  eighteen  inches  in  thickness,  and  forms  an  easily 
recognized  horizon  in  tracing  the  sequence  of  strata,  scarcely  to  be 
distinguished  otherwise  by  any  change  in  their  lithological  charac- 
ters. This  formation  caps  the  river  bluff  throughout  the  county, 
except  at  a  few  localities  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  already 
mentioned,  where  they  are  composed  of  Silurian  and  Devonian  strata, 
and  through  the  more  northern  part  of  township  10  south,  range  3 
west,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  9  south,  range  3  west,  this  sandstone 
forms  the  entire  elevation  of  the  bluffs,  and  also  covers  a  belt  of 
country  immediately  to  the  eastward  of  them,  averaging  from  three 
to  six  miles  in  width. 

In  the  'extreme  southern  portion  of  the  county  it  outcrops  from 
Cave  creek  to  the  county  line  of  Williamson  county,  and  forms  the 
valley  of  both  branches  of  Drury's  creek,  to  the  middle  of  township 
10  south,  range  1  west,  and  on  Cedar  creek  it  occupies  the  valley 
of  that  stream  through  the  northern  and  eastern  portions  of  town- 
ship 10  south,  range  2  west.  It  extends  up  the  valley  of  the  Big 
Muddy,  above  the  mouth  of  Lewis  creek,  and  outcrops  on  the  lower 
course  of  Kinkaid  creek,  from  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  28, 
township  8  south,  range  3  west,  to  the  river  bluffs.  It  caps  the 
highlands  between  the  upper  course  of  Kinkaid  creek  and  the  river 
bluffs,  and  also  forms  the  valley  of  North  Fork  and  Little  Kinkaid. 
It  forms  the  valley  of  the  north  fork  of  Mill  creek,  at  the  county 
line  of  Randolph  county,  underlying  a  belt  of  country  about  three 


JACKSON   COUNTY.  515 

miles  in  width,  trending  northeastward  into  that  county.  The  out- 
crops of  coal  at  the  top  of  this  formation  will  be  mentioned  under 
the  head  of  Coal  Measures. 

Lower  Coal  Measures. — The  lower  Coal  Measures,  as  they  are  devel- 
oped in  this  county,  cover  an  area  about  equal  to  one-half  of  the 
county,  and  if  a  line  is  drawn  diagonally  from  the  southeast  to  the 
northwest  corner,  it  would  define  very  nearly  the  western  boundary 
of  the  coal  field  in  this  county.  These  lower  measures  include  a 
thickness  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty,  or  possibly  three  hundred, 
feet  of  strata,  consisting  mainly  of  sandstones  and  shales,  with  some 
thin  beds  of  limestone,  and  three  or  four  seams  of  coal,  probably 
including  all  the  beds,  from  the  horizon  of  the  DuQuoin  coal  to  the 
base  of  the  measures.  The  lowest  persistent  seam  in  this  series  is 
the  one  outcropping  just  at  the  top  of  the  Conglomerate.  It  is 
usually  from  sixteen  to  twenty-four  inches  in  thickness,  and  affords 
a  coal  of  fair  quality,  but  is  too  thin  to  be  worked  with  profit,  except 
by  stripping  at  its  outcrop.  The  next  coal  in  the  series,  of  a  work- 
able thickness,  are  the  Murphysboro  coals,  which  are  well  exposed 
on  the  Big  Muddy,  near  that  town,  where  the  rocks  show  the  fol- 
lowing section,  from  the  top  downwards : 

Micaceous  sandstone,  with  partings  of  shale 20  feet 

Coal,  upper  seam 3 

Dark-blue  clay  shale 12 

Brown  areno- argillaceous  shale,  with  iron  nodules 15 

Coal '. 3 

Clay  parting,  from  two  to  eight  inches 0          8  inches 

Coal 2 

Shale,  with  nodules  of  iron  ore 20 

Sandstone,  extending  below  the  river  level ? 

Extensive  mining  operations  have  been  carried  on  here  for  many 
years,  and  formerly  the  coal  from  these  mines  was  floated  down  the 
Big  Muddy  on  barges,  and  across  the  Mississippi  to  the  highlands 
on  the  west  side,  in  Missouri,  where  a  coal  depot  was  established 
when  the  mines  were  first  opened.  Kecently  these  mines  have  passed 
into  the  hands  of  some  eastern  capitalists,  a  joint  stock  company 
has  been  formed  under  the  title  of  the  "Mount  Carbon  Coal  and 
Eailroad  Company,"  and  a  railroad  has  been  constructed  from  the 
mines  to  the  Mississippi  river,  at  the  lower  extremity  of  the  "Back- 
bone," where  a  coal  depot  has  been  established. 

The  lower  seam,  or,  rather,  the  two  lower  seams,  though  they  are 
worked  as  one,  is  mainly  wrought  here,  and  the  lower  part  of  it, 
below  the  clay  parting,  affords  a  coal  of  excellent  quality,  and  suffi- 
ciently free  from  the  sulphuret  of  iron  to  be  used  in  a  raw  state  for 
smelting  iron,  a  quality  which  greatly  enhances  its  value  from  its 


516  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

proximity  to  the  St.  Louis  market,  and  the  immense  iron  deposits 
of  Missouri.  The  upper  part  of  the  seam  also  affords  a  good  quality 
of  coal,  but  contains  more  sulphuret  of  iron  than  that  below.  The 
seam  of  clay  shale  is  variable  in  thickness,  ranging,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  shaft,  from  two  to  six  inches,  and  appears  to  increase  in 
thickness  towards  the  south,  so  that  in  a  distance  of  less  than  a 
mile  in  that  direction  it  is  ten  feet  thick,  and  the  lower  division  of 
the  seam  has  thinned  out  altogether.  The  thickness  of  the  top  coal 
varies  from  thirty  to  forty-two  inches,  and  the  bottom  from  twenty- 
two  to  thirty-two  inches. 

Very  little  has  been  done  here  towards  mining  the  upper  seam  in 
the  foregoing  section,  and  its  maximum  thickness  in  this  vicinity 
may  be  set  down  at  about 'three  feet,  and  from  this  it  ranges  down 
to  a  mere  streak  of  bituminous  matter.  At  the  Mount  Carbon  mines, 
where  it  had  been  opened  and  drifted  on  for  some  distance,  it  ranges 
from  twenty-four  to  thirty  inches  in  thickness,  with  a  sandstone  roof. 
The  quality  of  the  coal  does  not  appear  to  be  equal  to  that  from 
either  division  of  the  lower  seam.  On  the  north  side  of  the  Big 
Muddy,  around  Murphysboro,  these  coals  have  not  yet  been  found, 
and  it  seems  probable  that  they  were  cut  away  in  the  erosion 
of  the  river  valley,  which  was  subsequently  refilled  with  Quaternary 
deposits,  but  they  will  probably  be  found  wherever  borings  are  made 
beyond  the  northern  limits  of  this  valley,  at  a  depth  of  less  than 
one  hundred  feet  from  the  surface. 

It  is  possible  that  the  foregoing  section  represents  the  three  lower 
coals,  and  that  the  lowest  one  with  the  clay  parting  is  really  two 
distinct  seams,  which  are  here  only  separated  by  a  thin  parting  of 
shale,  but  it  seems  more  probable  that  the  seam  usually  developed 
at  the  top  of  the  Conglomerate  really  holds  a  lower  position,  and  is 
not  represented  here.  These  seams  outcrop  also  about  a  mile  south- 
east of  Carbondale,  holding  about  the  same  relative  position,  and 
the  section  here  is  very  nearly  an  exact  repetition  of  that  at  Mur- 
physboro, except  that  the  lower  coal  seam  is  four  feet  thick  and  has 
no  clay  parting.  Seven  miles  south  of  this  point,  near  Makanda,  a 
thin  seam  of  coal  is  found  about  eighteen  inches  thick,  which  must 
underlie  those  at  Carbondale.  These  coals  appear  on  Pond  creek 
and  Camp  creek,  and  also  on  both  branches  of  Rattlesnake  creek, 
but  presenting  at  their  various  outcrops  considerable  diversity  in 
thickness,  and  in  the  character  of  the  enclosing  strata.  On  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  15,  township  7  south,  range  3  west, 
coal  occurs,  associated  with  sandstones,  as  shown  in  the  following 
section : 


JACKSON   COUNTY.  517 

Slope  of  the  hill  covered  with  loose  masses  of  sandstone  and  some  of  the 

lower  strata  in  place,  not  measured ? 

Carbonaceous  shale  with  coal  in  fragments 1  foot 

Soft  sandstone  with  particles  of  coal 3  feet 

Coal 2  feet  6  inches 

Sandstone  extending  below  the  creek  level ? 

At  another  exposure,  near  by,  the  carbonaceous  shale  above  the 
coal  was  wanting,  and  the  coal  was  directly  enclosed  between  the 
sandstones.  Near  the  center  of  section  22,  in  what  is  known  as  the 
"Killian  Settlement,"  coal  is  found  from  five  to  six  feet  in  thick- 
ness. It  contains  some  sulphuret  of  iron,  but  appears  to  be  of  fair 
quality.  It  is  said  to  rest  on  sandstone,  and  the  roof,  where  it  has 
not  been  removed  by  surface  agencies,  appears  to  be  als.o  sandstone, 
which  outcrops  near  by,  just  above  the  level  of  the  coal.  The  same 
coal,  retaining  about  the  same  thickness,  was  found  by  Mr.  Killian, 
in  digging  a  well  near  the  southeast  corner  of  section  16.  It  was 
overlaid  here  by  drift  clay,  and  rested  directly  on  sandstone.  The 
character  of  the  strata  accompanying  this  coal  would  seem  to  ally 
it  to  the  upper  seam  at  Murphysboro,  but  no  attempt  has  been  made 
in  this  neighborhood,  so  far  as  we  know,  to  determine  whether  there 
was  a  workable  coal  below  this  or  not. 

The  shales  associated  with  the  lower  coals  of  the  foregoing  section 
abound  in  fossil  plants,  and,  where  the  shales  are  argillaceous,  the 
plants  may  be  obtained  in  a  very  fine  state  of  preservation.  The 
shales  above  the  lower  coal  also  contain  numerous  nodules  of  im- 
pure iron  ore,  exactly  like  those  from  Mazon  creek,  in  Grundy  county, 
and  contain  many  of  the  same  species  of  plants ;  and  hence  we  infer 
that  these  seams  belong  to  about  the  same  horizon,  and  are  probably 
also  the  equivalents  of  the  Colchester  coal  in  McDonough  county, 
the  roof  of  which  contains  similar  nodules  enclosing  plants. 

One  mile  and  a  half  southeast  of  Carbondale,  on  Dr.  Wm.  Richart's 
place,  coal  has  been  opened  by  a  shaft,  while  another  and  higher 
seam  outcrops  in  the  hill  above,  affording  the  following  section: 

Micaceous  sandstone  and  sandy  shale 15  feet 

Coal 3 

Fire  clay  and  clay  shale,  partly  hidden 35 

Coal....---. 4 

Fire  clay 5 

Sandstone 15  to  20 

These  coals  and  the  beds  associated  with  them  appear  to  be  the 
stratigraphical  equivalents  of  the  Murphysboro  coals,  and  most 
probably  represent  the  upper  seam  and  upper  division  of  the  lower 
coals  at  that  point.  The  blue  shale  above  the  coal  contains  traces 
of  coal  plants  and  Lingula  mytiloides.  A  half  mile  farther  to  the 
southeast,  the  lower  seam  in  the  above  section  is  opened  on  Dr. 
Storer's  land  by  drifting  into  the  southeastern  slope  of  the  hill  at 


518  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF  ILLINOIS. 

its  line  of  outcrop.  It  presents  no  marked  variation  in  its  appear- 
ance here  from  what  was  observed  at  Dr.  Richart's.  The  base  of 
the  upper  sandstone  in  the  foregoing  section  is  said  to  be  sixty- 
nine  feet  above  the  railroad  grade  at  the  depot  in  Carbondale.  To 
the  northward  of  the  range  of  low  hills  in  which  these  coals  outcrop, 
there  is  a  broad  valley  about  five  miles  in  width,  extending  to  Crab 
Orchard  creek,  and  in  the  bluffs  of  this  creek  a  seam  of  coal  out- 
crops, which  is  probably  the  upper  coal  in  the  foregoing  section. 
In  the  intervening  valley  this  upper  seam,  and  probably  the  lower 
one  also,  has  been  entirely  cut  away  by  the  erosion  of  the  strata, 
as  no  coal  has  been  met  with  in  sinking  wells  in  this  valley,  except 
at  one  point,  where  a  coal,  representing  the  lower  seam  probably,  was 
reached. 

About  four  miles  southeast  of  Carbondale,  on  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  36,  township  9  south,  range  1  west,  just  on  the  county 
line  of  Williamson  county,  two  coal  seams  outcrop,  probably  the 
same  as  those  in  the  foregoing  section,  but  occurring  under  different 
conditions. 

The  following  is  the  section  here : 

Massive  sandstone,  not  measured 

Compact,  siliceous  gray  limestone 3  feet. 

Gray  shale,  with  nodules  of  iron  ore 4 

Coal,  varying  in  thickness  from 4  to  4      '  4  inches 

Slope,  with  partial  outcrops  of  shale 31 

Coal,  variable  in  thickness  from 1  to  2      '  6  inches 

Blue  shale,  underlaid  by  sandstone ? 

While  we  have,  in  the  sections  given  above,  as  many  as  three  dis- 
tinct coal  seams  developed  around  the  extreme  borders  of  the  coal 
field  in  this  county,  yet  towards  the  northwest  they  decrease  in 
number,  so  that  there  is  probably  but  one  in  the  western  part  of 
the  county  that  is  thick  enough  to  be  of  any  practical  value. 

About  a  mile  northwest  of  DeSoto,  at  Mr.  Earner's,  on  a  high 
point  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  17,  township  8  south, 
range  1  west,  the  following  strata  were  passed  through  in  a  well : 

Soil  and  drift  clay 20  feet 

Siliceous  limestone 7 

Siliceous  shales,  hard 20 

Hard  black  slate 3 

Coal 4 

Shale 8 

The  limestones  in  this  vicinity  are  hard,  close-textured,  siliceous 
and  rather  light-colored,  gray  or  brown,  and  contain  the  following 
species  of  fossils:  Productus  longispinns,  Spirifer  cameratus,  S.  Ken- 
tuckensis,  S.  lineatus,  Athyris  subtileta,  A.  Royissii,  Retzia  Mormoni, 


JACKSON   COUNTY.  519 

Chonetes  mesoloba,  etc.  This  group  of  fossils  would  seem  to  indicate 
a  close  proximity  to  the  DuQuoin  coal,  No.  5  of  the  general  section 
of  the  Coal  Measures  in  the  valley  of  the  Illinois  river  (see  Chapter 
I,  p.  5),  and  it  may  be  that  this  is  an  outlier  of  that  seam.  At 
DeSoto  a  shaft  was  sunk  to  the  depth  of  eighty-two  feet,  and  a 
boring  was  carried  down  105  feet  farther,  without  finding  any  coal 
of  any  practical  importance.  This  shaft  was  probably  commenced 
below  the  horizon  of  the  seam  in  Farner's  well,  which  is  located  on 
ground  considerably  higher  than  the  level  of  the  town. 

On  the  elevated  land  between  the  Little  Muddy  and  Beaucoup, 
limestones  similar  to  those  already  mentioned  at  Farner's  are  found 
at  various  points,  as  on  Little  Muddy,  two  miles  north  of  DeSoto, 
and  at  Elk  Prairie,  near  the  northeast  corner  of  section  19,  town- 
ship 7  south,  range  1  west,  where  the  bed  appears  to  be  as  much 
as  eight  feet  in  thickness.  On  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  same 
section  the  limestone  was  struck  at  a  depth  of  twenty  feet,  and 
below  this  a  sandstone  with  a  thin  seam  of  coal.  On  Span's  creek, 
just  over  the  line  in  Perry  county,  a  coal  seam  has  been  opened 
which  will  be  described  in  the  report  on  that  county,  and  farther  up 
the  creek,  on  section  4,  township  7  south,  range  2  west,  fragments 
of  limestone  are  found  in  the  creek,  and  at  Mr.  Porter's,  in  a  well 
dug  on  section  3,  large  masses  of  limestone  were  found  at  a  depth 
of  twenty-five  feet.  The  limestone  was  separated  into  large  masses 
with  crevices  between,  through  which  the  augur  passed  unimpeded. 
This  limestone  closely  resembles  that  at  Farner's,  near  DeSoto,  and 
on  the  Beaucoup,  and  contains  the  same  fossils,  and  probably  be- 
longs to  the  same  bed.  In  another  well  a  few  rods  distant,  no 
limestone  was  found,  but  coal  was  struck  at  a  depth  of  twenty-nine 
feet.  It  is  probable  this  well  was  sunk  through  a  wide  fissure  in 
the  limestone,  that  had  subsequently  been  filled  with  clay.  The 
underlying  sandstone  on  Six-mile  creek,  below  Mr.  Wilson's,  contains 
a  streak  of  coal  two  inches  thick,  which  seems  to  be  an  exact  repeti- 
tion of  the  strata  at  Elk  Prairie.  It  is  probable  that  the  limestone 
mentioned  above,  with  its  associated  coal  and  sandstone,  forms  the 
highest  portion  of  the  Coal  Measures  developed  in  this  county,  and 
the  dip,  which  along  the  Illinois  Central  Bailroad  is  to  the  northward, 
is  changed  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  county  to  a  more  easterly 
direction,  and  becomes  slight  and  undulating.  As  no  reliable  boring 
has  been  made  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  where  the  whole 
series  would  probably  be  found,  it  is  not  possible  to  give  a  connected 
section  of  the  strata  belonging  to  the  Coal  Measures  in  this  county, 


520 


ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


but  the  following  tabular  statement,  prepared  by  Mr.  ENGELMANN, 
gives  the  locality,  thickness  and  depth  below  the  surface  of  all  the 
coals  found  in  the  county: 

Localities  of  Coal  in  Jackson  County. 


Name. 


talon 
~ 


Quarter. 


Thickness 
Inches. 


Depth 

of 
Coal. 


Remarks. 


1  O'Donnell . 

2  Ben  Wiley. 

3  Stonefort 


ID 
10 
10 
OnClay-lick  creekjlO 

5  Near Drury'scr'k.  101 

6  Judge  W.  Hagler.jlO 

7  Frank  Robinson. .  jlO| 
STh.Etherton 

9  Conuer 

10  Sam  Etherton... 


Osburn. 


11, 
12;Hooker 

13  Town  creek 

14 

15  Hanson  

16  Indian  creek 

17  Breaks  of  Kincaid 

18  Jungman 

19'Hipel 

20  W.  W.  Worthen  . . 

21  Sterling  Smith... 

22  Jim  Smith 

23  Downen 

24  Jesse  Ward 

25  W.Bradley 

26  Underwood . . : 

27lKoke 

28  Frank  Crane 

29  Don  Morrison's.. 

30  Killian 

SliKillian  

32  Jesse  Nicholson. 

33  Robert  Smith 

34  Hughes  McMillen 

35  Near  Pond  creek 

36  Upper  vein  

37  Cen.  vein  top  coal 

38  Cen.  vein  bot'm  c'l 

39  ... 

40  Muddy  river 

41  Jux 

42  Jenkins 

43  Edwin  Hanson  .. 

44  Jones 

45  Henry  Hanson  .. 

46  Brooks 

47  Carbondale 

48  Upper  bed 

49  Upper  bed 

50  Lower  bed ., 

51  On  Crab  Orchard 

52  Fish  Trap 

53  Snyder 

54  Old  Bridge 

55  Meyer 

56  Snake  Den 

57  Fish  Trap 

58  Farner 

59  On  the  railroad.. 

60DeSoto. 

61  DeSoto 

62DeSoto 

63  Swartz 

64  Porter 

65  Taylor 

66Daviess  ... 


.  of  S.W. . 

128S.W 

127  N.E 

1  30  S.  line 

17  S.E.  (?).... 
2|24  N.  half.... 
2|lO!S.W 

2  SiS.E.N.W.. 

232S.E 

232JW.  side... 
230:S.E.  N.W  . 

220S.W 

313IS.E 

2  18  N.E 

217IN.W 

336.S.E. 


24. 


30(?) 

12. 


334|N.  line.... 
326  W.  line.... 
3  23  N.W 


8iW.  line 

3aW.  half... 

4361S.W 

410JS.W 

420E.  half .... 

7  N.E 

10  N.W. 


20. 


36. 


N.E.N.W.. 
N.W.. 


26(?) 
24. 


311 

3  15  N.W. 


3122'Center.... 

323  S.W 

335'N.W 

312S.E.  S.W.. 

220  S.W 

2  9  W.  half.... 
2  9iW.  half.... 
21  9!  W.  half.... 
2ilO  W.  side... 

2:34  s.w 

2J16S.E. 

222S.E. 


36. 


1:27;S.W.  N.W. 

1|36;N.E 

li36E.  line.... 
136iE.  half.... 

1  25  N.E 

1  ->3  S  E 

1 24  S.E.  N.E: 


48. 


Outcrop 


10  or  12.... 

3  or  4 

2 

4 

3... 


18  or  22.... 
18. 

18. 
18. 
10. 
16. 

20. 


6  or  8 

16 

30  (?) 


48  to  72... 


0  to  18.... 


30  .......... 

60  to  72.... 

60  to  72... 


12 

Oto  36 

30  to  43.... 
22  to  32.... 
12  to  16... 


18  to  30... 
Thin 


8  N.E 24  to  42.... 


SS.  line. ...24  (?) 

1;27  S.  line....  ~ 
1  27  N.  E.  S.W. 


20  feet... 
Outcrop 


26  feet... 
Outcrop 


38  feet... 
Outcrop 
50  feet... 
Outcrop 

40  feet... 
Outcrop 


12  feet... 
Outcrop 

22  feet... 
Outcrop 


48  to  52.... 
42 


12  to  30.... 

36(?)  

20  or  more 
16 


2Center.  ..]20to  36.... 
liS.  line  ....42(?) 


1  34  N.E. 
1  14  S.W. 


17X.W.  . 


8  S.E  ........ 

120  N.E  ...... 

120  N.E  ....... 

:20  \.E  ....... 


24  to  36.... 

to6  ...... 

48  .......... 


V 
Thin  ' 


50  feet. 
40  feet. 
70  feet. 


2   :;  Center... 

1   5  N.W  .......  3  ........... 

1   TIN.  Hne....lOverl2... 


170  feet 

15  feet. 
29  feet. 
Outcrop 

16  feet.. 


Nos.  1  to  9  are  the  most  south- 
erly outcrops  of  the  coal  at 
the  top  of  the  Millstone-grit. 


Near  Cedar  creek. 
On  Sugar  creek. 

Head  of  Bear  creek. 

Head  of  Shoal  creek. 

On  Lewis'  creek. 

Nos.  10  to  27  are  the  most  west- 
erly outcrops  of  coal  at  and 
near  the  top  of  the  Millstone- 
grit. 


Breaks  of  Kincaid. 
Breaks  of  Rattlesnake  creek. 
Breaks  of  Kincaid. 
Head    of  Brushy  Fork. 


Near  Columbo. 

On  Little  Rattlesnake  creek. 


Near  Big  Rattlesnake  creek. 
On  Camp  creek. 

Near  Murphysboro. 


In  the  bed  of  the  river. 

On  Mud  creek. 

Breaks  of  Drury's  creek. 

Near  Indian  creek. 
)  This  bed  at  an  intermediate 
>    point     is    only   18     inches 
)     thick. 

Near  Sycamore  branch. 


On  Big  Crab  Orchard  creek. 


Breaks  of  Crab  Orchard  creek. 
On  Big  Crab  Orchard  creek. 
On  Little  Muddy. 
Near  DeSoto. 

j  Reported  to  have  been  struck 
|     by  boring. 

In  Elk  Prairie. 
Near  Span's  branch. 
On  Six-mile  creek. 
In  Elk  Prairie. 


JACKSON    COUNTY.  521 

Localities  numbered  from  1  to  27,  inclusive,  Mr.  ENGELMANN  refers 
to  the  lowest  coal  in  the  series,  the  seam  immediately  above  the 
Conglomerate,  but  we  think  he  is  certainly  mistaken  in  referring  No. 
23  to  that  horizon,  and  most  likely  all  the  outcrops  in  the  northern 
part  of  township  7  south,  range  4  west,  may  be  referred  to  a  higher 
position  in  the  series.  The  lower  coals  are  less  developed  in  Ean- 
dolph  and  St.  Glair  counties  than  in  the  southern  part  of  Jackson, 
and  it  is  probable  that  this  change  is  effected,  'in  part,  at  least, 
before  reaching  the  Eandolph  county  line.  Above  this  lower  seam 
we  have  the  two  seams  at  Murphysboro  and  Carbondale,  and  above 
these  the  coals  north  and  northwest  of  DeSoto,  some  of  which  may 
be  the  equivalents  of  the  DuQuoin  coal,  though  they  are  somewhat 
thinner  than  the  average  thickness  of  that  coal  farther  north. 

Quaternary  Deposits. — The  uplands  in  this  county  are  covered  by  a 
deposit  of  clay  and  sand,  with  gravel,  and  a  few  boulders  of  granite, 
trap,  and  other  metamorphic  rocks,  showing  that  it  may  properly 
be  referred,  in  part,  at  least,  to  what  is  usually  called  the  Drift 
period,  and  this  county  appears  to  mark  its  southern  limits,  for  no 
well  marked  deposits  of  this  kind  have  been  observed  south  of  the 
dividing  ridge  that  crosses  the  State  through  the  south  part  of  Jackson 
and  the  north  part  of  Union  counties.  These  drift  clays  probably 
do  not  average  in  this  county  more  than  about  twenty  feet  in  thick- 
ness, and  are  passed  through  almost  everywhere  on  the  uplands  in 
sinking  wells.  Below  these  beds  of  clay  and  gravel,  a  deposit  is 
often  met  with  in  this  county,  which  has  also  been  observed  at  many 
localities  in  different  portions  of  the  State,  consisting  of  a  dark  blue 
or  black  mud,  containing  branches  of  trees,  and  sometimes  trees  of 
large  size.  This  deposit  varies  in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  to 
ten  feet  or  more,  and  has  been  observed  in  this  county  at  the  follow- 
ing localities :  On  the  northeast  corner  of  town  7  south,  range  5 
west,  near  the  Eandolph  county  line,  where  it  was  found  in  wells 
twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  below  the  surface;  at  the  town  of  Shiloh 
or  Steuben,  in  Eandolph  county,  it  is  eight  to  ten  feet  thick,  under 
twenty  feet  of  drift  deposits ;  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  24, 
township  7  south,  range  4  west,  it  was  found  eight  feet  thick,  thirty- 
five  feet  below  the  surface,  and  was  underlaid  by  gravel  and  sand, 
and  at  Jesse  Ward's,  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  20,  town- 
ship 7,  range  4,  and  on  section  16,  it  was  found  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  feet  thick.  It  has  also  been  noticed  two  miles  west  of  Car- 
bondale, where  it  was  struck  in  several  wells,  but  its  thickness  was 
not  ascertained.  It  was  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  below  the 
surface,  and  above  a  water-bearing  stratum  of  sand. 


522  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

The  Loess  formation  in  this  county  consists  mainly  of  comminuted 
siliceous  silt,  usually  of  a  light  brown  or  buff  color,  and  locally  it 
becomes  a  yellowish  loam  with  calcareous  concretions.  At  some 
localities  the  mass  is  slightly  cemented,  so  as  to  form  high  perpen- 
dicular escarpments  on  the  summits  of  the  hills,  and  presents  but 
slight  traces  of  stratification.  It  occupies  only  a  narrow  belt  on  the 
top  of  the  river  bluffs  from  the  west  line  of  the  county  to  the  vicinity 
of  the  Pine  hills  near  the  south  line.  These  hill  were  probably  above 
the  level  of  the  water  during  the  deposit  of  this  formation,  and 
hence  they  are  not  covered  by  it.  On  the  east  side  of  Fountain 
Bluff  this  formation  extends  down  to  the  level  of  the  river  bottoms, 
and  probably  once  filled  the  valley  between  this  and  the  main  chain 
of  bluffs.  The  soil  over  the  highest  portions  of  the  river  bluffs  ap- 
pears to  be  derived,  in  part,  at  least,  from  this  formation,  and  the 
yellow  poplar  or  tulip  tree  flourishes  best  where  the  soil  is  underlaid 
by  beds  of  Loess. 

Economical  Geology. 

Bituminous  Coal. — Although  the  coal  seams  outcropping  in  this 
county  are  for  the  most  part  rather  thin,  and  are  therefore  not  ex- 
tensively worked  at  the  present  time,  and  the  thickest  and  most 
profitable  beds  outcrop  at  points  remote  from  railroads,  and  where 
the  local  demand  is  limited,  yet  the  supply  of  this  indispensable 
requisite  to  the  industrial  interests  of  the  country  is  abundant,  and 
will  be  developed  in  the  future  as  the  demand  for  it  increases. 
There  are  at  least  three,  and  perhaps  four,  seams  outcropping  within 
the  limits  of  this  county,  ranging  in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  to 
six  feet.  The  thickest  coal  is  that  outcropping  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  county  at  the  head  of  Brushy  Fork,  and  at  Killian's,  on  the 
waters  of  Eattle-snake  creek,  and  at  Farner's,  near  DeSoto,  where 
the  coal  ranges  from  four  to  six  feet  in  thickness.  These  may  be 
the  equivalent  of  the  upper  seam  at  Murphysboro  and  Carbondale, 
but  more  probably  belong  to  another  horizon.  The  seams  below  this, 
except  at  Murphysboro,  where  two  seams  appear  to  run  together  so 
as  to  be  worked  as  one,  do  not  usually  exceed  three  feet  in  thick- 
ness, and  are  often  found  too  thin  to  be  mined  to  advantage,  except 
where  they  outcrop  so  that  they  can  be  worked  by  stripping. 

About  one-half  of  the  superficial  area  of  this  county  is  underlaid 
with  coal,  embracing  all  the  northeastern  portion,  and  a  line  drawn 
from  the  southeastern  to  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county 
would  very  nearly  define  the  southwestern  limits  of  the  coal-field. 


JACKSON    COUNTY.  523 

The  lowest  seam  in  the  series  is  that  occurring  usually  at  the  top 
of  the  Conglomerate,  and  its  most  southern  outcrops  are  numbered 
from  one  to  ten  in  the  foregoing  tabular  statement,  and  its  thickness 
in  this  portion  of  the  county  ranges  from  three  to  thirty  inches.  Its 
character  is  variable ;  at  some  localities  it  affords  a  coal  of  excellent 
quality,  and  at  others  it  is  quite  poor,  and  mixed  with  slate  and 
sulphuret  of  iron.  It  is  doubtful  if  this  seam  extends  into  the  north- 
western portion  of  the  county  at  all. 

The  next  coals  in  the  series  are  those  of  Murphysboro  and  Car- 
bondale,  of  which  a  section  is  given  on  a  preceding  page.  At  the 
first  named  point  three  seams  are  developed,  the  two  lower  ones 
being  so  near  together  that  they  can  be  worked  as  one  seam.  This 
is  an  excellent  coal,  one  of  the  best  known  in  the  State,  and  has 
been  successfully  used  in  its  raw  state  for  smelting  iron.  These 
mines  are  said  to  have  been  opened  as  early  as  1810,  and  a  flat 
boat  load  of  coal  from  this  point  was  shipped  that  year  to  New 
Orleans,  and  in  1822  Gov.  JOSEPH  DUNCAN  loaded  several  boats  here 
with  coal  for  the  same  market.  More  recently  these  mines  were 
wrought  for  several  years  by  the  Jackson  County*  Coal  Company, 
the  coal  'being  loaded  on  flat  boats  and  then  towed  down  the  Big 
Muddy  to  their  depot  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi.  This, 
however,  proved  to  be  an  uncertain  mode  of  transportation,  because 
during  a  considerable  portion  of  the  year  the  Muddy  river  was  too  low 
to  allow  the  boats  to  run  at  all,  and  at  best  they  could  only  run  a 
small  part  of  the  season.  About  the  year  1865,  the  Mount  Carbon 
Coal  Company  built  a  railroad  from  these  mines  to  the  Mississippi, 
making  their  terminus  and  depot  at  the  lower  end  of  Back-bone 
ridge,  thus  giving  themselves  an  easy  and  certain  access  to  the 
river  markets  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  This  road,  which  is  only 
about  fifteen  miles  in  length,  is  now  in  successful  operation  for  the 
transportation  of  coal,  and  is  being  extended  to  Carbondale,  on  the 
Illinois  Central  railroad,  which  will  give  an  outlet  for  this  coal  in 
that  direction  also.  Nearly  all  the  coal  mined  at  this  point  has 
been  taken  from  the  lower  seams,  which  are  here  separated  by  a 
parting  of  clay  shale  from  a  few  inches  to  two  feet  in  thickness. 

The  upper  division  of  the  seam  averages  about  three  feet  in  thick- 
ness, and  the  lower  about  two  feet.  The  coal  from  both  divisions  is 
good,  though  that  from  the  lower  seems  to  be  the  freest  from  sul- 
phuret of  iron.  The  coal  is  hard  and  bright,  and  the  layers  separ- 
ated by  carbonaceous  clod  or  "mineral  charcoal."  An  analysis  of 
this  coal  by  Mr.  HENRY  PEATTEN,  formerly  Assistant  Geologist  and 
Chemist  of  the  Survey,  gave  the  following  result : 


524  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Specific  gravity 1,2933 

Loss  in  coking 37.7 

Total  weight  of  coke 62.3—100 

ANALYSIS— Moisture 6.5 

Volatile  matter  31.2  ' 

Carbon  in  coke 60.8 

Ashes 1.5—100 

The  northern  limit  of  this  seam  has  not  been  determined,  and  the 
next  outcrops  in  that  direction  on  Pond  and  Indian  creeks  reveal 
only  a  thin  seam  of  coal,  from  six  to  twelve  inches  thick,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  Big  Muddy  coal,  as  it  appears  in  the  vicinity  of 
Murphysboro,  is  a  local  development  of  limited  extent.  At  Carbon- 
dale  the  lower  division  of  the  main  Murphysboro  seam  is  not. found 
at  all,  and  the  upper  division  is  about  four  feet  thick,  while  the 
upper  seam,  thirty-five  feet  above  the  lower,  is  three  feet  in  thick- 
ness. If  we  are  right  in  our  supposition  that  the  lower  division  of 
the  main  Murphysboro  coal  may  be  a  distinct  seam,  the  two  being 
brought  so  near  together  here  by  the  thinning  out  of  the  intervening 
strata  that  they  can  be  worked  as  one,  then  that  lower  seam  may 
be  the  eighteen-inch  coal  outcropping  near  Makanda,  at  the  top  of 
the  Conglomerate,  and  this  supposition  is  strengthened  by  the  fact 
that  the  clay  parting  which  divides  the  lower  seam  at  Murphysboro 
increases  in  a  southerly  direction  so  rapidly  that  a  mile  distant  in 
that  direction  the  divisions  are  too  widely  separated  to  be  worked  as 
a  single  seam. 

The  coals  outcropping  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  which 
seem  to  hold  a-  higher  position  than  those  of  Murphysboro,  have 
been  so  little  worked  that  no  decided  opinion  can  be  given  as  to  the 
average  quality  of  the  coal  which  they  afford,  and  although  they 
may  be  inferior  to  the  Murphysboro  coal  in  quality,  yet  they  are 
no  doubt  good  enough  for  ordinary  steam-producing  and  heating 
purposes,  and  will  eventually  prove  an  important  addition  to  the 
mineral  wealth  of  the  county. 

Building  Stone. — The  southwestern  portion  of  this  county  contains 
an  inexhaustible  supply  of  excellent  building  stone  of  various  kinds, 
including  marbles  that  are  susceptible  of  receiving  a  high  polish, 
and  suited  to  the  construction  of  elegant  and  costly  buildings.  The 
massive  layers  of  siliceous  sub-crystalline  limestone,  that  are  inter- 
calated in  the  cherty  beds  of  the  lower  Devonian  series  at  "Bald 
Bock"  and  "Back-bone,"  afford  some  layers  that  are  delicately  col- 
ored, sometimes  nearly  white,  or  streaked  with  pink,  yellow  and 
blue,  these  colors  being  so  blended  as  to  have  a  pleasing  effect  on 
a  highly  polished  surface.  Some  of  these  layers  contain  consider- 


JACKSON    COUNTY.  525 

able  chert  in  small  nodules,  but  others  are  quite  free  from  this 
pernicious  material,  and  will  dress  evenly  and  receive  a  high 
polish.  These  beds  have  never  been  worked  for  building  material, 
but  recently  a  commencement  has  been  made  at  "  Bald  Eock," 
and  quarries  will  be  opened,  so  that  the  extent  of  these  marble  beds 
may  be  fully  determined.  Specimens  from  this  locality,  brought  to 
this  city,  and  polished  by  the  marble  workers  here,  proved  to  be 
susceptible  of  receiving  a  very  high  polish  at  a  moderate  cost  of 
labor. 

The  Onondaga  and  Hamilton  limestones  at  the  "Bake  Oven," 
afford  a  durable  material  for  foundations,  culverts  and  rough  walls, 
and  some  of  the  lower  beds  would  probably  dress  well,  and  are  so 
situated  that  they  can  be  conveniently  quarried  for  shipping  from 
their  outcrop  at  the  water's  edge. 

The  limestones  of  the  lower  Carboniferous  series,  at  Walker's  hill, 
will  afford  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  limestone  suitable  for  all 
ordinary  building  purposes,  and  those  belonging  to  the  St.  Louis 
group,  at  the  upper  end  of  the  hill,  will  furnish  material  for  the 
manufacture  of  a  quick  lime  of  superior  quality;  and  as  this  is  the 
only  locality  in  the  county  where  this  limestone  is  found,  and  being  in 
close  proximity  to  the  railroad,  by  which  the  products  of  lime-kilns 
established  here  could  be  sent  into  the  central  portion  of  the  State, 
where  no  limestones  are  found,  and  the  facility  with  which  fuel 
could  be  obtained  from  the  coal  mines  of  the  Big  Muddy,  are  con- 
siderations that  point  to  this  as  a  very  desirable  locality  for  the 
establishment  of  extensive  works  of  this  kind. 

The  limestones  of  the  Chester  series  are  generally  siliceous  and 
cherty,  but  they  are  for  the  most  part  durable,  and  may  be  used 
for  foundation  walls  when  no  better  material  is  at  hand.  Some 
beds  of  this  rock  are  so  siliceous  as  to  form  a  very  refractory  fire- 
stone,  and  it  has  been  used  in  the  construction  of  fire-places  and 
chimneys  by  the  early  settlers  of  the  country.  It  is  probable  that 
some  of  the  beds  are  also  pure  enough  to  be  burned  for  lime,  but 
they  would  make  an  article  quite  inferior  to  that  from  the  St.  Louis 
limestone,  except  for  cement. 

The  sandstones  of  the  Chester  series,  and  the  Conglomerate,  afford 
some  good  building  stone  to  supply  the  local  demand  in  the  vicinity 
of  their  outcrops.  Locally,  they  are  thin-bedded  and  afford  a  good 
flag-stone.  On  Drury  creek,  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company 
has  opened  an  extensive  quarry  in  the  Conglomerate  sandstone,  on 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  9,  township  10  south,  range  1  west, 
where  the  rock  is  quarried  for  building  stone  and  for  ballast  for 


526  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

the  road.  About  fifty  feet  in  thickness  of  the  sandstone  is  exposed 
here,  in  a  bluff  close  to  the  road,  about  thirty-five  feet  of  which  is 
thinly  bedded,  while  the  lower  fifteen  feet  is  in  tolerably  heavy  beds, 
and  afford  some  good  dimension  stone.  The  rock  is  finely  grained, 
somewhat  micaceous,  and  of  a  brownish-yellow  color.  It  is  rather 
soft  when  just  quarried,  but  hardens  considerably  on  exposure,  and 
makes  a  durable  building  stone.  In  the  northeastern  portion  of  the 
county,  good  building  stone  is  comparatively  scarce,  but  some  of 
the  sandstones  and  the  limestones  of  the  Coal  Measures,  which  out- 
crop on  the  streams  in  this  portion  of  the  county,  may  be  made 
available  to  supply  the  local  demands  for  such  material. 

Iron  Ores. — Iron  ore  in  the  form  of  a  hydrous  peroxide  of  iron, 
also  known  as  brown  hematite  or  limonite,  and  the  impure  carbonate 
of  iron,  known  as  clay  iron  ore,  and  kidney  ore,  abound  in  this 
county;  the  former  associated  usually  with  the  sandstones,  and  the 
latter  with  clay  shales  of  the  Chester  series,  Conglomerate  and  Coal 
Measures.  The  limonite  occurs  most  abundantly  at  the  base  of  the 
Conglomerate,  and  was  especially  noticed  in  this  position  at  several 
points  in  section  24,  township  8  south,  range  4  west,  and  at  some 
other  points  in  the  same  vicinity.  The  argillaceous  shales  in  all 
the  groups  above  named  contain  more  or  less  clay  iron  ore,  or 
kidney  ore,  disseminated  through  them,  either  in  nodules  or  bands 
of  septaria,  crossed  with  veins  of  calcareous  spar.  Overlying  the 
upper  coal  at  Murphysboro,  they  form  a  layer  in  the  shale  from  six 
to  eight  inches  thick.  It  was  nowhere  seen  in  this  county,  however, 
in  sufficient  quantity  to  become  valuable  for  the  manufacture  of 
iron. 

Lead  Ore. — Galena  or  sulphuret  of  lead  occurs  in  small  quantities 
in  the  lower  Devonian  limestones  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  the 
county.  It  was  found  at  the  lower  extremity  of  the  Back-bone  ridge 
in  cutting  down  the  hill  for  the  railroad  grade,  occurring  in  nodular 
masses,  from  one  to  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  coated  with  a 
thin  crust  of  calcareous  matter.  It  did  not  appear  to  belong  to  a 
regular  vein  and  probably  occupied  pockets  in  the  ch'erty  limestones. 
The  quantity  found  here  was  too  small  to  make  the  discovery  a 
matter  of  any  economical  importance. 

Saltpetre. — This  article  has  been  obtained  in  Jackson  county  in 
small  quantities  by  lixiviating  the  earth  at  the  bottom  of  certain 
caves.  The  largest  cave  of  this  kind  in  the  county  is  situated  on 
the  lower  course  of  Cave  creek,  near  the  north  line  of  section  21, 
township  10  south,  range  2  west,  where  the  Conglomerate  forms  the 
greater  part  of  a  ridge  three  hundred  feet  high.  The  cave  is  on 


JACKSON    COUNTY.  527 

the  east  side  of  the  creek,  and  is  formed  by  an  opening  into  the 
sandstone,  about  three  hundred  feet  in  width  at  the  mouth  of  the 
cave,  and  gradually  narrowing  backwards  for  about  two  hundred 
feet  to  the  rear  end.  In  .the  central  part  of  the  cave  the  roof  is 
about  sixty  feet  in  height,  gradually  becoming  less  towards  the  rear, 
where  the  gradual  rising  of  the  floor  and  the  depression  of  the  roof 
forms  the  terminus  of  the  cavern.  This  cavern  has  no  doubt  been 
the  resort  of  wild  animals  for  ages,  seeking  shelter  there  in  summer 
from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  and  in  winter  from  the  cold, 
just  as  the  domestic  animals  do  at  the  present  day,  and  in  this 
way  the  earth  at  the  bottom  of  the  cave  became  impregnated 
with  the  animal  matter  from  which  the  saltpetre  is  ultimately 
obtained. 

Chloride  of  Sodium. — Salt  was  formerly  manufactured  in  this  county 
near  Brownsville,  the  old  county  seat.  The  well  was  on  the  bank  of  the 
Big  Muddy  river,  three  and  a  half  miles  below  Murphysboro,  on  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  2,  township  9  south,  range  3  east,  and 
was  three  hundred  feet  in  depth.  There  was  formerly  a  salt-lick  at 
this  point,  and  after  finding  more  indications  of  salt  by  sinking  a 
well  a  few  feet  in  depth,  Mr.  PIERCE  obtained  a  charter  in  1824,  and 
commenced  operations  by  boring  to  the  depth  of  300  feet,  when  he 
obtained  a  plentiful  flow  of  brine.  A  copper  tube  was  inserted  to 
keep  out  the  fresh  water  which  filtered  through  the  sandstones,  but 
as  the  boring  had  not  been  carefully  made,  the  hole  was  not  per- 
fectly straight  and  round  and  considerable  difficulty  was  experienced 
in  keeping  the  well  free  from  surface  water,  which  weakened  the 
brine.  Notwithstanding  the  defective  tubing,  the  well  yielded  one 
bushel  of  salt  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  gallons  of  brine,  and 
with  the  best  tubing  that  could  be  put  in  under  the  circumstances, 
the  yield  was  increased  to  one  bushel  of  salt  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  gallons.  The  salt  was  said  to  have  been  quite  free  from 
foreign  mineral  substances,  leaving  scarcely  any  insoluble  matter  in 
the  pans.  In  1830  or  1832,  operations  were  stopped  in  consequence 
of  the  weakening  of  the  brine  from  the  defective  tubing.  About 
1830  a  new  well  was  commenced  a  mile  lower  down  the  river,  and 
at  a  depth  of  two  hundred  and  twelve  feet  a  strong  brine  was 
obtained,  but  only  a  small  quantity.  The  boring  was  continued  to 
the  depth  of  three  hundred  and  sixty- seven  feet  and  then  aban- 
doned. The  report  states  that  this  depth  was  entirely  through 
sandstones,  but  this  statement  seems  hardly  probable,  for  a  boring 
to  that  depth  at  this  point  must  have  penetrated  to  the  limestones 


528  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

of  the  Chester  series.  A  spring  of  weak  brine  is  still  running  near 
the  opening  of  the  old  well  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred  gallons  an 
hour. 

The  salt  wells  at  Syracuse,  New  York,  which  supply  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  trade  of  the  western  country,  yield  a  bushel  of  salt  to 
the  hundred  gallons  of  water,  and  we  see  no  reason  why,  with  a 
proper  tubing,  the  Brownsville  salt  well  could  not  be  profitably 
worked,  considering  the  abundance  and  cheapness  of  fuel,  both  wood 
and  coal,  in  this  vicinity.  The  geological  horizon  from  which  the 
brine  is  obtained  here,  appears  to  be  at  the  junction  of  the  Con- 
glomerate sandstone  with  the  lower  Carboniferous  series,  which  is 
probably  the  principal  brine-producing  horizon  in  this  State.  Salt- 
licks also  occur  on  the  Columbo,  in  this  county,  and  experiments 
should  be  made  to  determine  if  they  indicate  the  existence  of  a  valu- 
able brine  at  this  locality.  With  the  recent  improvements  in  boring, 
an  experimental  well  could  be  sunk  to  the  depth  of  from  three  hun- 
dred to  five  hundred  feet,  or  down  to  the  lower  Carboniferous  lime- 
stones, at  a  comparatively  moderate  cost,  as  nearly  the  whole  dis- 
tance would  be  through  soft  sandstories  and  shales,  and  if  properly 
conducted  would  thoroughly  test  the  question  as  to  the  value  of  the 
brine  at  either  of  the  above  named  localities. 

Sand  and  Clays. — Sand  and  clay  for  the  manufacture  of  brick  is 
abundant,,  and  may  be  found  in  almost  every  neighborhood  where 
such  building  material  is  required.  A  good  potters'  clay,  or  a  clay 
suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  fire  brick,  is  more  rarely  found,  and 
none  such  was  met  with  during  our  examinations  in  this  county,  but 
as  such  beds  frequently  occur  in  the  lower  Coal  Measures,  it  is  quite 
probable  that  they  will  hereafter  be  found  as  the  workable  coals  are 
more  generally  developed,  and  the  clays  associated  with  them  are 
better  known. 

Agricultural  Resources. — The  general  character  of  the  bottom  lands 
in  this  county  has  already  been  alluded  to,  and  we  will  proceed  to 
describe  briefly  the  uplands,  commencing  with  the  river  bluffs  and 
region  immediately  adjacent  thereto,  that  is  underlaid  by  the  Con- 
glomerate sandstone  and  subordinate  limestones. 

This  region  includes  a  belt  of  country  from  six  to  eight  miles  in 
breadth,  running  parallel  with  the  river  bluffs,  in  a  general  direction 
from  northwest  to  southeast,  and  comprises  about  one-fourth  of  the 
whole  area  of  the  county.  It  is  for  the  most  part  exceedingly  broken 
and  hilly,  with  very  little  arable  land,  except  on  the  narrow  ridges, 
where  small  farms  have  been  opened,  extending  frequently  into  the 


JACKSON    COUNTY.  529 

more  broken  lands  on  either  side.  Along  the  river  bluffs  the  soil  is 
formed  in  part  of  the  sandy  loam  of  the  Loess,  and  is  deep  and  rich 
where  the  surface  is  tolerably  level,  and  farther  back,  where  this 
formation  is  wanting,  the  ridges  are  covered  with  a  light  brown  sandy 
soil,  derived  mainly  from  the  decomposition  of  the  underlying  sand- 
stones. Farther  back  from  the  river  bluffs  the  soil  is  underlaid  by 
a  subsoil  of  stiff  clay,  succeeded  by  sand  and  gravel  of  the  Drift 
period.  These  ridges  are  heavily  timbered  with  yellow  poplar  or  tulip 
tree,  white  and  black  oak,  pignut  and  scaly-bark  hickory,  barren 
hickory,  black  walnut,  sugar  maple,  black  gum,  sassafras  and  hazel, 
and  a  few  post-oaks  are  also  found  in  this  region,  where  the  soil  is 
thin.  The  wheat  and  corn  crops  on  these  ridges  are  generally  less  in 
their  yield  per  acre  than  along  the  foot  of  the  bluffs  on  the  high 
bottoms,  but  the  grain  is  heavier  and  the  crop  less  subject  to  failures, 
and  it  is  quite  probable  that  with  a  better  and  more  thorough  system 
of  cultivation,  these  lands  would  prove  to  be  quite  as  productive  as 
any  of  the  uplands  in  the  county.  Fruit  trees  and  vines  grow  finely 
on  these  broken  lands,  and  the  fruit  is  less  liable  to  be  killed  by  the 
late  frosts  in  spring  than  that  planted  in  the  valleys,  and  the  peach 
never  fails  entirely  on  the  high  ridges  in  the  southern  portion  of  this 
county,  and  its  cultivation  has  come  to  be  one  of  the  most  important 
pursuits  of  the  agriculturist  in  this  region.  Chicago  and  other  north- 
western markets  are  now  mainly  supplied  with  this  delicious  fruit 
from  this  and  the  adjoining  counties,  and  the  favorable  position  of 
this  region  in  regard  to  climate,  and  its  accessibility  to  the  north- 
western markets,  renders  it  an  exceedingly  desirable  locality  for  the 
practical  fruit-grower.  Grape  culture  has  already  been  commenced 
here,  and  although  partial  failures  have  resulted  from  planting 
Catawbas,  and  some  other  varieties  that  are  peculiarly  liable  to 
mildew,  yet  it  must  eventually  succeed  with  the  more  hardy  vari- 
eties. 

The  northeastern  part  of  the  county,  embracing  the  region  north 
of  Murphysboro  and  Carbondale,  and  east  of  the  dividing  ridge  which 
runs  in  a  due  northwest  course  from  Murphysboro  to  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  county,  is  underlaid  by  the  Coal  Measures,  and  has  a 
comparatively  level  or  gently  rolling  surface.  At  some  points  the 
country  assumes  the  "barren"  character  more  conspicuous  farther 
north,  and  which  will  be  more  fully  discussed  in  the  report  on  Perry 
county.  This  "barren"  soil  is  an  extremely  fine,  whitish,  arenaceous 
loam,  and  the  characteristic  timber  is  post-oak.  The  regular  post- 
oak  flats  of  Perry  county  extend  also  into  the  northern  part  of  Jackson 
—34 


530  ECONOMICAL   GEOLOGY   OF   ILLINOIS. 

county,  but  they  only  occupy  a  limited  area,  and  the  adjacent  lands 
are  more  undulating,  and  the  timber  consists  in  part  of  black-jack, 
black  oak,  barren  hickory  and  hazel,  and  on  the  more  broken  por- 
tions we  find  white  oak,  hickory  and  black  gum.  These  lands  are 
apt  to  suffer  more  from  drouth  than  the  white  oak  and  poplar  lands 
of  the  hilly  region  above  described,  but  a  more  thorough  and  deep 
cultivation  of  the  soil  will  probably  remedy  this  defect,  and  render 
these  lands  quite  productive. 

Between  Muddy  river  and  Carbondale  there  is  a  wide  stretch  of  flat 
land  forming  a  level  valley  several  miles  in  width,  which  is  quite  wet 
in  consequence  in  part  of  its  level  surface,  but  more  from  the  fine- 
ness and  retentive  character  of  the  soil,  which  prevents  a  free  drainage 
of  the  surface.  This  land  is  now  generally  neglected,  and  considered 
too  wet  for  cultivation,  but  when  once  thoroughly  broken  with  the 
plow  it  soon  becomes  dry  by  allowing  the  surface  water  to  pass 
down  into  the  more  porous  sub-soil  below.  These  flat  lands  are 
heavily  timbered  with  swamp  white  oak,  scaly-bark  and  other  hick- 
ories, black  walnut,  red,  blue-bark  and  water  oak,  ash,  horn-beam, 
red-bud,  pawpaw,  etc. 

This  county  lies  upon  the  extreme  southern  border  of  the  prairie 
region,  and  some  small  prairies  are  found  within  its  limits,  among 
which  are  the  following:  Virgennes  prairie,  Cox's  prairie,  Manny's 
prairie,  Elk  prairie,  and  a  part  of  Six-mile  prairie,  which  is  mostly 
in  Franklin  county.  The  prairie  soil  consists  of  a  finely-comminuted, 
chocolate-colored,  arenaceous  material,  which,  in  consequence  of  its 
fineness,  assumes  the  appearance  of  clay.  It  is  usually  of  a  yel- 
lowish-gray or  chocolate  color,  according  to  the  amount  of  vegetable 
humus  it  contains,  and  from  one  to  two  feet  deep.  The  sub-soil 
consists  of  a  reddish-yellow  clay  stratum  or  hard-pan,  tough  and 
very  hard  to  break  up,  almost  impervious  to  water,  and  decom- 
poses slowly  when  exposed  at  the  surface,  but  does  not  form  a 
good  soil.  The  hard-pan  is  not  found  everywhere  near  the  surface, 
but  at  some  points  there  is  a  yellowish  clay  sub-soil  beneath  the 
prairies,  which  forms  a  fertile  soil  when  fully  exposed  to  atmospheric 
influences. 

At  many  points  the  prairies,  without  any  change  of  surface  level, 
are  surrounded  by  post-oak  flats,  which  gradually  change  into  "bar- 
rens" and  post-oak  hills.  Some  of  these  flats  have  the  white, 
impalpable,  arenaceous  soil  which  characterizes  the  post-oak  and 
black-jack  flats,  and  are  exclusively  timbered  with  these  two  varie- 
ties. Northeast  of  DeSoto  we  find  some  similar  lands,  although  the 
soil  is  not  generally  quite  so  white,  and  the  post-oak  becomes  more 


JACKSON   COUNTY.  531 

vigorous  in  growth  and  less  numerous,  or  is  entirely  superseded  by 
hickory,  black  oak  and  other  varieties  of  timber,  when  the  surface 
becomes  more  undulating.  On  the  whole,  the  agricultural  resources 
of  this  county  will  compare  favorably  with  any  of  the  adjoining 
counties,  and  but  for  the  prevalence  of  the  milk-sickness,  which  has 
always  prevailed  to  some  extent  in  this  portion  of  the  State,  this 
county  would  now  be  one  of  the  foremost  in  Southern  Illinois  in 
wealth  and  population.  But  this  much  dreaded  disease  will  prob- 
ably disappear  as  the  surface  of  the  country  is  brought  under  culti- 
vation, and  settlers  even  now  find  but  little  difficulty  in  protecting 
their  cattle  from  its  ravages,  by  confining  them  to  cultivated  pas- 
tures, instead  of  allowing  them  to  range  at  will  through  the  forests. 


GLOSSARY 

OF  GEOLOGICAL  AND  OTHER  SCIENTIFIC  TEEMS, 

USED     IN     THIS     VOLUME. 


Acervularia.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 

Actinocrinus.  A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea,  or  lily-shaped  marine  ani- 
mals. 

Adipocere.  A  substance  resembling  spermaceti,  into  which  the  mus- 
cular fibre  of  dead  animals  is  changed,  by  long  immersion  in 
water  or  moist  places. 

Agaricocrinus.    Agassizocrinus.    Genera  of  Crinoidea. 

Agelacrinites.    A  genus  of  marine  animals  allied  to  the  Crinoidea. 

Allorisma.    A  genus  of  fossil  marine  bivalve  shells. 

Alluvium.  Accumulations  of  earth,  sand  and  gravel,  washed  down 
by  rivers  or  floods  upon  land  not  permanently  submerged. 

Alveolites.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 

Amorphous.    Bodies  devoid  of  regular  form,  not  stratified. 

Amygdaloid.  A  rock  in  which  crystalized  minerals  are  scattered  in 
almond-shaped  cavities. 

Analogue.  Corresponding  bodies.  A  living  shell  of  the  same  genus 
as  a  fossil  shell,  is  the  analogue  of  the  latter. 

Annularia.    A  genus  of  fossil  plants. 

Anthracite.  Coal,  in  which  the  volatile  matters  have  been  expelled 
by  subterranean  heat,  metamorphic  coal. 

Anticlinal  axis.  A  point  of  upheaval  from  which  the  rocks  dip  in 
opposite  directions. 

Anvil-rock  sandstone.  A  sandstone  overlying  coal  No.  12  of  the 
Kentucky  series. 

Arragonite.     A  simple  mineral,  a  variety  of  carbonate  of  lime. 


534  GLOSSARY. 

Arch&ocidaris.  A  fossil  genus,  allied  to  the  living  sea  eggs  or  sea 
urchins. 

Archimedes.    A  screw-shaped  fossil,  the  axis  of  a  Bryozoan. 

Arenaceous.     Sandy,  containing  sand. 

Argillaceous.    Clayey,  composed  in  whole  or  in  part  of  clay. 

Asaphus.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crustacea  (Trilobites). 

Asterophyllites.    A  genus  of  fossil  ferns. 

Asphaltum.    A  partly  hardened  bitumen. 

Athyris.    A  genus  of  fossil  marine  bivalve  shells. 

Avicula.  A  genus  of  living  bivalve  shells,  some  of  which  are  found 
in  a  fossil  state. 

Aviculopecten.  A  genus  of  fossil  shells,  resembling  Avicula  and 
Pecten. 

Azoic  rocks.  Eocks  formed  before  the  existence  of  animals  or  plants, 
and  consequently  destitute  of  fossil  remains. 

Bellerophon.    A  genus  of  marine  univalve  shells. 

Birdseye  limestone.    A  limestone  in  New  York,  of  lower  Silurian  age. 

Bitter  spar.  A  sparry  mineral,  consisting  of  carbonate  of  lime  and 
carbonate  of  magnesia.  The  crystallized  variety  of  dolomite  or 
magnesian  limestone. 

Bituminous  shale.  Shale,  impregnated  with  bitumen,  usually  of  a 
dark  brown  or  black  color. 

Black  river  limestone.  A  lower  Silurian  limestone  of  the  New  York 
series. 

Botryoidal.    Eesembling  a  bunch  of  grapes. 

Boulder.  Eounded  or  other  masses  of  rock  that  have  been  trans- 
ported from  more  or  less  distant  localities  by  currents  of  water, 
or  on  floating  masses  of  ice,  during  the  Drift  period. 

Brachiopoda.  A  class  of  marine  Mollusks  with  two  fleshy,  ciliated 
arms,  developed  from  the  sides  of  the  mouth,  that  serve  to  cre- 
ate currents  to  bring  them  food. 

Breccia.    A  rock  composed  of  angular  fragments  cemented  together. 

Brown  spar.    Crystallized  dolomite. 

Bryozoa.    The  lowest  type  of  Mollusca. 

Calamites.    A  genus  of  fossil  plants,  allied  to  the  rushes. 

Calcareous.    Containing  lime. 

Calc.  spar.    Crystallized  carbonate  of  lime. 

Calymene.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crustacea  (Trilobites). 

Carbonate.    A  combination  of  carbonic  acid  with  other  substances. 

Cephalopoda.  A  class  of  marine  Molluscous  animals,  having  thin 
organs  of  prehension  arranged  around  the  head. 

Ceraurus.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crustacea  (Trilobites). 


GLOSSARY.  535 

Chalcedony.    An  uncrystallized  siliceous  mineral. 

Chalybeate  springs.     Mineral  springs  holding  iron  in  solution. 

Chcetetes.     A  genus  of  fossil  coral-building  polyps. 

Chert.    A  siliceous  mineral  allied  to  chalcedony  and  flint. 

Chonetes.    A  genus  of  fossil  bivalve  shells,  of  the  class  Brachiopoda. 

Cincinnati  group.     The  upper  division  of  the  lower  Silurian  system. 

Coal  basin.  Coal-bearing  strata,  deposited  in  a  depression  formed 
in  older  rocks. 

Congeners.     Species  that  belong  to  the  same  genus. 

Conformable.  Eocks  are  said  to  be  conformable  when  the  strata  are 
parallel. 

Conglomerate.  Bounded  pebbles  and  grains  of  sand  cemented  to- 
gether. 

Conularia.    A  genus  of  fossil  marine  shells,  usually  cone-shaped. 

Cosmogony.     Speculations  in  regard  to  the  creation  of  the  earth. 

Cretaceous*    Chalk  formation. 

Cririoidea.  An  order  of  lily-shaped  marine  animals,  belonging  to  the 
sub-kingdom  Eadiata.  They  generally  grow  attached  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea,  by  a  jointed  stem,  analogous  to  the  mode  of 
growth  of  plants,  though  some  are  free. 

Crustacea.  A  class  of  animals,  such  as  the  lobster  and  cray-fish,  with 
a  crust-like  shell  covering  the  body,  legs,  etc. 

Crystalline.  Having  the  texture  of  broken  crystal,  or  an  assemblage 
of  ill-defined  crystals.  Loaf-sugar  has  a  crystalline  texture. 

Curlew  limestone.  Limestone  above  coal  seam  No.  3,  of  the  Kentucky 
series. 

Cyathophylloid  corals.  Corals  having  a  cup-shaped  depression  in 
their  summits. 

Cyclonema.    A  genus  of  fossil  marine  univalve  shells. 

Cyrtia  and  Cyrtina.     Genera  of  fossil  bivalve  shells  (Brachipods). 

Cyrtolites.    A  genus  of  chambered  univalve  shells. 

Dalmania.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crustaceous  animals  (Trilobites). 

Debris.    Fragments  of  rock  removed  by  the  action  of  water  or  frost. 

Dendrocrinus.     A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 

Denudation.  Wearing  away  by  the  action  of  running  water  or  other 
agencies. 

Detritus.    Matter  worn  off  from  rocks. 

Devonian.    The  geological  system  next  above  the  Silurian. 

Dichocrinus.     A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 

Dip.     The  inclination  of  strata  in  any  particular  direction. 

Diluvial.  Effects  of  floods  of  ice  and  water,  in  comparatively  modern 
times. 


536  GLOSSAKY. 

Discina.    A  genus  of  fossil  marine  shells. 

Dolomite.  A  limestone  composed  of  the  carbonates  of  lime  and  mag- 
nesia. 

Drift.  A  formation  made  up  of  sands,  clays,  gravel  and  boulders, 
and  spread  over  the  more  solid  rocks. 

Escarpment.     The  abrupt  face  or  steep  slope  of  a  rock,  hill  or  ridge. 

Euomphalus.    A  genus  of  fossil  marine  univalve  shells. 

Exuviae.  The  hard  crust  or  shell  cast  from  the  bodies  of  animals, 
or  what  remains  after  the  decomposition  of  the  fleshy  parts. 

Favistella.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 

Fault.  A  sudden  interruption  of  the  continuity  of  strata  in  the  same 
plane,  caused  by  a  crack  or  fissure. 

Fauna.  The  various  kinds  of  animals  peculiar  to  a  country  consti- 
tute its  fauna. 

Favosites.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 

Ferruginous.     Containing  iron. 

Fissile.    Easily  cleft,  dividing  readily  into  parallel  laminae,  like  slate. 

Flora.  The  various  kinds  of  trees  and  plants  in  a  country  consti- 
tute its  flora. 

Fluviatile.    Belonging  to  rivers. 

Fluor  Spar.    A  crystal  composed  of  lime  and  fluorine. 

Foraminifera.    An  order  of  usually  microscopic  shells. 

Formation.    A  group  of  strata  referred  to  a  common  origin. 

Forbesiocrinus.     A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 

Fossil.  An  animal  or  plant  found  embedded  in  the  earth  by  natural 
causes,  usually  applied  to  the  remains  of  extinct  types. 

Fossiliferous.     Containing  fossils. 

Fucoides.    Fossil  sea  weeds. 

Galena.    A  metallic  ore,  composed  of  lead  and  sulphur. 

Gangue.  The  mineral  substance  that  encloses  or  accompanies  the 
metallic  ore  in  a  vein. 

Gasteropoda.  A  division  of  the  Mollusca  in  which  the  foot  of  the 
animal  is  attached  to  its  belly. 

Genus.  Species  of  animals  or  plants  possessing  certain  characters 
in  common. 

Geode.  A  rounded  nodule  of  stone,  containing  a  cavity  lined  with 
crystals. 

Glyptocrinus.     A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 

Gomphoceras,  Goniatites,  Gonioceras.  Genera  of  fossil  marine  cham- 
bered shells,  allied  to  the  living  Nautilus. 

Granatocrinus.     Graphiocrinus.     Genera  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 

Granite.    A  rock  composed  of  quartz,  mica  and  feld  spar. 


GLOSSARY.  537 

Granular.     Composed  of  distinct  grains. 

Gypsum.    A  mineral  composed  of  lime  and  sulphuric  acid. 

Hade.    A  deviation  of  a  mineral  vein  or  crevice  from  the  vertical. 

Halysites.     A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 

Heavy  spar.    A  combination  of  baryta  and  sulphuric  acid. 

Heliolites.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 

Helodus.    A  genus  of  fossil  fishes. 

Hemipronites.     A  genus  of  fossil  bivalve  shells. 

Hornstone.    A  siliceous  mineral,  resembling  flint. 

Heterocrinus.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 

Humus.    A  dark-brown  substance,  formed  usually  in  the  soil,  by  the 

decomposition  of  vegetable  matter. 
Hydraulic  limestone.    An  earthy  limestone,  that,  when  calcined  and 

ground,  has  the  property  of  setting  or  hardening  under  water. 
Hymenophyllites.    A  genus  of  fossil  plants. 
In  situ.    Eocks  remaining  in  the  place  where  they  are  formed. 
Isotelus.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crustacea  (Trilobites). 
Joints.    Fissures  or  lines  of  parting  in  rocks,  often  at  right  angles 

to  the  planes  of  stratification.  . 

Knorrhia.    A  genus  of  fossil  plants.  ' 

Laminated.    Formed  in  thin  layers. 
Lenticular.    Having  the  form  of  a  lens. 
Leperdita.    A  genus  of  small  fossil  Crustacea. 
Lepidostrobus.    Cones  of  Lepidodendron. 
Lepidodendron.    A  genus  of  fossil  cone-bearing  trees. 
Lept&na.    Leptoccelia.    Genera  of  fossil  marine  bivalve  shells. 
Lignite.    Wood  converted  into  a  kind  of  coal. 
Lithological.    The  stony  structure  of  a  mineral  mass. 
Lithostrotion.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 
Lituites.    A  genus  of  coiled  chambered  shells. 
Lingula.     A  genus  of  fossil  bivalve  shells. 
Loam.    A  mixture  of  sand  and  clay. 
Lode.    A  metallic  vein. 

Loess.     A  division  of  the  Quaternary  system. 
Lucina.    A  genus  of  bivalve  marine  shells. 
Lyropora.    A  genus  of  fossil  Bryozoa. 
Maclurea.     A  genus  of  fossil  univalve  shells. 

Mahoning  sandstone.     The  sandstone  overlying  coal  No.  4,  in  Kentucky. 
Mammoth.    An  extinct  animal,  belonging  to  the  same   genus  as  the 

living  Elephant. 

Mammillary.     Minerals  having  convex  concretions. 
Marl.    A  mixture  of  clay  and  lime. 


538  GLOSSAKY. 

Mastodon.    An  extinct  animal,  allied  to  the  Elephant. 

Matrix.  .  The  substance  in  which  another  is  embedded. 

Megaphitum.     A  genus  of  fossil  trees. 

Melonites.    A  genus  of  fossil  marine  animals,  allied  to  the  sea  urchin. 

Meristella,.    A  genus  of  fossil  bivalve  shells. 

Metamorphic  rocks.  Eocks  that  have  been  altered  from  their  original 
condition  by  heat  or  other  causes. 

Micaceous.     Containing  mica. 

Millstone  grit.  The  Conglomerate  sandstone  at  the  base  of  the  Coal 
Measures. 

Mollusca.  Animals  (shell  fish)  which  have  soft  bodies  and  are  with- 
out bones,  but  usually  protected  by  a  shell. 

Mountain  limestone.  The  lowest  division  of  the  Carboniferous  system. 
Lower  Carboniferous  limestone. 

Murchisonia.    A  genus  of  spiral  univalve  shells. 

Myalina.    An  extinct  genus  of  bivalve  marine   shells. 

Naticopsis.    A  genus  of  fossil  shells,  allied  to  the  living  Natica. 

Nautilus.  A  living  genus  of  marine  shells,  also  found  fossilized  in 
the  rocks. 

Neuropteris.    A  genus  of  fossil  plants. 

Niagara  group.    A  division  of  the  upper  Silurian  system. 

Nodule.    A  rounded,  irregular-shaped  lump  or  mass. 

Nucleus.  A  solid  central  piece,  around  which  other  matter  is  col- 
lected. 

Odontopteris.    A  genus  of  fossil  plants. 

Oolitic.  A  limestone  composed  of  rounded  particles,  like  the  roe  or 
egg  of  a  fish. 

Organic  remains.  Remains  of  animals  or  plants  found  in  a  fossil 
state. 

Orodus.    A  genus  of  fossil  fishes. 

Orthis.    A  genus  of  marine  bivalve  shells. 

Orthoceras.    An  extinct  genus  of  long,  straight-chambered  shells. 

Outcrop.    An  exposure  of  rock  at  the  surface. 

Outlier.  A  portion  of  a  stratum  or  formation  left  detached  from  the 
general  mass  by  the  removal  of  the  surrounding  portions. 

Ovate.    Egg-shaped. 

Paleontology.    The  science  which  treats  of  fossil  remains. 

Paleozoic.     A  name  given  to  the  older  fossiliferous  rocks. 

Pecopteris.    A  genus  of  fossil  plants. 

Pentremites.  A  genus  of  fossil  Blastoids,  the  bodies  of  which  re- 
semble petrified  nuts. 

Petroleum.     Rock  oil;   a  liquid  hydro-carbon. 


GLOSSARY.  539 

Plastic  clay.     Soft,  tough  clay,  such  as  is  used  for  pottery. 

Platycrinus.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 

Platyceras.    A  genus  of  marine  univalve  shells. 

Pleurodictyum.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 

Pleurotomaria.    A  genus  of  marine  univalve  shells. 

Phillipsastrea.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 

Pinna.    A  genus  of  marine  bivalve  shells. 

Polyphemopsis,    A  genus  of  univalve  shells. 

Porocrinus.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 

Porphyry.    An   unstratified   or   igneous  rock,  containing  crystals  of 

feld  spar. 
Polyzoa.    The  lowest  group  of  the  sub-kingdom  Mollusca.    The  same 

as  Bryozoa. 

Poteriocrinus.    A  genus  of  fossil   Crinoidea. 
Precipitate.     Substances  that,  having  been  dissolved  in  a  fluid,  form 

a  solid  by  chemical  combination,  and  fall  to  the  bottom  of  the 
,  solution. 

Productus.    A  genus  of  extinct  marine  bivalve  shells. 
Pyrites.    A  compound  of  copper  or  iron  with  sulphur. 
Pyritiferous.     Containing  pyrites. 
Quartz.    A  simple  mineral,  composed  of  pure  sdlex. 
Quartzite.     Sandstone  that  has  been  changed,  by  metamorphic  action, 

to  a  hard  quartz  rock. 
Quaternary.    The  newest  of  the  geological  systems,  in  which  nearly 

all  of  the  organic  forms  belong  to  living  species.  • 
Radiata.    One  of  the   great    sub-kingdoms   into   which   the    animal 

kingdom  is  divided,  including  star  fishes,  corals,  crinoids,  etc. 
Receptaculites.    A  genus  of  fossils,  supposed  to  belong  to  the  Fora- 

minifera. 

Retzia.    A  genus  of  fossil  bivalve  shells. 
Rhodocrinus.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 
Rhynchonella.    A  genus  of  marine  bivalve  shells. 
Saccharoidal.    Having  the  color  and  texture  of  loaf  sugar. 
Schizodus.    A  genus  of  fossil  bivalve  shells. 
Schcenaster.    A  genus  of  fossil  star  fishes. 
Sedimentary  rocks.    Those  which  have  been  formed  of  materials  that 

have  been  thrown  down  from  a  state  of  suspension  in  water. 
Semi-coscinium.     A  genus  of  fossil  Bryozoa. 
Septaria.    Lenticular  masses  of  clay,  impregnated  with  iron,  traversed 

by  veins  of  calcite  or  other  minerals.     (Turtle  stones.) 
Shale.    An  indurated  clay  or  sandstone,  in  thin  layers. 
Sigilldria.     A  genus  of  fossil  trees. 


540  GLOSSARY. 

Siliceous.    Composed  mainly  of  silex. 

Silicified.    Changed  into  siliceous  material. 

Silurian.    One  of  the  older  systems  of  rocks. 

Sphenophyllum.    A  genus  of  fossil  plants. 

Sphenopoterium.    A  genus  of  fossil  sponges. 

Spirifer.    Spiriferina.    Genera  of  fossil  marine  bivalve   shells.       » 

Stalactite.    A  rock  formed  by  the  dripping  of  water,  holding  lime  or 

other  mineral  in  solution,  from  the  roof  of  a  cavern  or  fissure 

in  the  rock. 
Stalagmite.    Deposits  formed  at  the  bottom  of  a  cavern  or  fissure  by 

the  dripping  of  water  holding  lime  or  other  mineral  in  solution. 
Stigmaria.     Stem-like  plants,  often  traversing  the  under  clays  of  the 

coal,  supposed  to  be  the  roots  of  Sigillaria. 
Strata.    The  different  layers  of  a  rock  formation. 
Stratified.    Formed  in  regular  beds  or  layers. 
Streptelasma.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 
Stricklandinia.    A  genus  of  fossil  marine  shells. 
Strike.    The  direction  of  the  line  of  bearing  of  the  strata,  which  is 

always  at  right  angles  to  the  prevailing  dip. 
Stromatopora.    A  genus  of  fossil  sponges  (?) 
Synchronism.    Formed  at  the  same  time;   of  the  same  age. 
Syringopora.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 
Taxocrinus.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 
Talus.    Slope  of  broken  fragments  accumulated  at  the  foot  of  a  steep 

rock.         .   ' 

Tellinomya.    A  genus  of  marine  bivalve   shells. 
Tentatulites.     Little  tubular  fossils,  with  encircling  ring-like  ridges. 

Affinites  doubtful. 

Terebratula.    A  genus  of  marine  bivalve  shells. 
Tertiary  strata.    The  newest,  or  latest  formed,  of  the  great  systems 

of  stratified  rock  anterior  to  the  Quaternary. 

Testacea.    Molluscus  animals,  having  a  shelly  covering.     (Mollusca.) 
Thermal  springs.     Springs  of  hot  water. 
Thin  out.     Beds,   growing  gradually  and  constantly  thinner  in  one 

direction,  until  they  entirely  disappear,  are  said  to  thin  out  in 

that  direction. 
Trap  rock.    Volcanic  rocks,  composed  of  feld  spar,  augite  and  horn 

blende. 

Trenton  limestone.     A  division  of  the  Lower  Silurian  system. 
Trilobite.     An  extinct  order  of  animals,  of  which  the  body  is   three 

lobed,  belonging  to  the  class  Crustacea. 
Tropidoleptus.     A  genus  of  fossil  marine  shells. 


GLOSSARY.  541 

Tuffa,  calcareous.    A  deposit  of  lime  from  springs,  forming  a  porous 

carbonate  of  lime. 
Veins.    Cracks  in  the  rocks, 'that  have  been   subsequently  filled  by 

other  substances,  either  earthy  or  metallic. 
Zaphrentis.    A  genus  of  fossil  corals. 
Zeacrinus.    A  genus  of  fossil  Crinoidea. 
Zinc  blende.     Sulphuret  of  zinc. 
Zoophite.    An  animal,  like  the  coral  or  sponge,  that,  being  attached 

to  the  ground,  has  the  form  of  plants. 


INDEX. 


Abneyville  rock.. 
Alexander  county, 
Alexander  county, 
Alexander  county, 
Alexander  county. 
Alexander  county, 
Alexander  county, 

group  in . 

Alexander  county, 
Alexander  county, 
Alexander  county , 
Alexander  county, 
Alexander  county 

in  .. 


PAGE 

514 

geology  of 467 

Tertiary  beds  of 459 

Devonian  beds  in  458, 460 
Onondaga  group  in.  461 
Oriskany  group  in..  462 
Lower  Helderberg 

463 

Cincinnati  group  in.  465 
Thebes  sandstone  in  466 
Trenton  limestone  in  467 . 
economical  geology  468 
,  building  materials 

..  469 


Alexander     county,   agricultural     re- 
sources of 471 

Alluvial  bottom 457,475,502 

American  bottoms 212, 227, 251 

Analyses  of  soils,  importance  of 193 

Analyses  of  coals 208,209 

Ancient  valleys,  cause  of 6 

Axes  of  disturbance 4 

Axes  of  disturbance,  date  of 5 

Azoic  rocks,  so-called 14 

Bald  knob,  description  of 479 

Black  Slate 92,294,460,482 

Building  stone 469,496,524 

Burlington  limestone 79, 508 

Burlington  limestone,  fossils  of 79 

Burlington  limestone,  analyses  of 83 

Blue  andBuff  limestones 128 

Carbondale  coal,  section  of 510,518. 

Chester  group .  .33, 60, 217, 240, 257, 298, 326, 

391,415,487,509 

Chester  group,  fossils  of 62,  63 

Chemical  report,  by  Dr.  Blaney 191, 208 

Cincinnati  group 105,134,465 

Cincinnati  group,  fossils  of 104, 108, 465 

Cincinnati  group,  section  of  in  lead  re- 
gion  135 

Clear  Creek  limestone 97 

Clear  Creek  limestone,  fossils  of 98,  99 

Coalfields  of  Illinois 162 

Coal  fields,  geographical  extent  of 165 

Coal  Measures,  lower,  general  section  of  166 
Coal  Measures,  upper  general  section  of  168 
Coal  Measures,  economical  products  in  176 


PAGE 

Coal  Measures,  minerals  in 48, 177 

Coal  Measures,  fossils  of 48.  59 

Coal  Measures,  slates  in 49 

Coal  Measures,  sections  in  counties  of 

Will  andGrundy 43 

Coal,  origin  of 162 

Coal,  theory  of.  Dr.  Fred.  Mohr 164 

Coal,  theory  of,  Prof.  Eeinschs 164 

Coal,  Nos.  5,9,14,15,16 167 

Coal,  Nos.  1,2,3,5,6,7 171 

Coal,  first  discovery  in  United  States..  170 

Coal,  first  mining 170 

Coal,  section  in  Saline  and  Gallatin 

counties 172 

Coal,  observations  of  Prof. F.  H.  Bradley  173 

Coal  in  LaSalle  county 173 

Coal,  section  at  LaSalle 174 

Coal  in  Fulton  county 175 

Coal  in  vicinity  of  Springfield 175 

Coal,  Belleville 176 

Coal,  "Carlinville  limestone" 169 

Coal  at  Kiverton 167 

Coal,  analysis  of 524 

Coal  oil 56 

Coal,  ultimate  analysis  of 205 

Coke,  method  of  obtaining 55 

Coking  coals 197 

Coral  reefs  of  Florida,  age  of 10 

Crab  orchard  creek,  coal  of : 518 

Devonian  limestone 93 

Devonian  limestone,  fossils  of 93, 95 

Dikes,  how  formed 18 

Drift,  whence  derived 21 

Drift,  fossils  of 30 

Drift,  modified 6 

Drift,  useful  materials  In : 27 

Driftless  region  of  the  northwest 22,123 

Earliest  rocks,  how  formed 11 

Epsomites 485 

Erosion  of  ancient  valleys 7 

Earner's  well,  section  of 518 

Fault  in  Pope  county 413 

Ferruginous  sandstone 34 

Figure  House  rock 514 

Fossil  fuel,  application  of 193 


II 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Fossils,  use  and  value  of 13 

Fountain  Bluff  or  Big  Hill 512 

Galena  limestone 109,131 

Gash  veins,  how  formed 18 

Geodes  of  the  Keokuk  group,  report  on 

by  Prof .  G.  J.  Brush 71 

Geology,  principles  of 8 

Geology,  general  principles  of 8 

Geological  systems,  order  of 17 

Gonatite  limestone 84 

Hamilton  group 458, 460, 482, 507, 525 

Hancock  county,  geology  of 264 

Hancock  county,  coal  in 268 

Hancock  county,  economical  geology 

of 276 

Hancock  county,  soil  and  agriculture 

Of 279 

Hancock  county,  fruit  culture  in 280 

Hardin  county,  geology  of 291 

Hardin  county,  Conglomerate  in 302 

Hardin  county,  coal  in 305 

Hardin  county,  iron  ores  in 305 

Hardin  county  lead  mines,  report  on, 

by  Dr.  J.  G.  Norwood 309 

Hardin  county,  lead  mines  in 311 

Hardin  county,  mineral  springs  in 317 

Hardin  county— building  material 318 

Hardin  county,  soil  and  timber  of 319 

Illinois,  area  of 1 

Illinois— climate,  boundaries,  etc 2 

Illinois,  river  systems  of '  2 

Illinois,  general  elevation  of 3 

Indian  Point,  section  at 325 

Iron  ores 468,469,526 

Iron  ores,  analyses  of 192 


Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county- 
Jackson  county, 

in... 

Jackson  county, 

groups  in 

Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county. 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Jackson  county, 
Johnson  county, 
Johnson  county 

stone  in  . 


geology  of 502 

section  of 505 

Oriskany  group  in....  506 
Onondaga  group  in. . .  507 

Hamilton  group  in 507 

-"barren"  soil 529 

Burlington  limestone 

508 

Keokuk  and  St.  Louis 

509 

Chester  group  in    509 

Conglomerate  in 110 

Coal  Measures 515 

Quaternary  deposit  of  521 
economical  geology  of  522 

building  stones  of 524 

iron  ores  of 526 

lead  ores  of 526 

saltpetre  caves  in 526 

salt  wells  in 527 

agricultural  resources  528 

coal  localities  in 520 

geology  of 320 

,  Conglomerate  sand- 

..  343 


PAGE 

Johnson  county,  Chester  group  in 326 

Johnson  county,  St.  Louis  group  in 322 

Johnson  county,  building  material 353 

Johnson  county,  outcrops  of  coal  in...  352 

Johnson  county,  minerals-  of 352 

Johnson  county,  mineral  springs  in 353 

Johnson  county,  soil  and  timber  of 354 

Keokuk  group 69,272,509 

Keokuk  group,  fossils  of 76, 78, 275, 509 

Keokuk  limestone,  analysis  of 76 

Killian  settlement,  coal  of 517 

Kinderhook  group 35, 83, 293, 483 

Kinderhook,  fossils  of 86 

Kinderhook  group,  divisions  of 84 

Kinderhook  in  Union  county 86 

Lead  region,  report  on 120 

Lead  region,  topography  of 122 

Lead  region,  surface  geology  of 123 

Lead  region,  character  of  the  rocks  in.  126 
Lead  diggings,  detailed  description  of.  155 

Lead  ore,  mode  of  occurrence  of 144 

Lithographic  limestone 87 

Loess 494,522 

Lower  Carboniferous  limestone 60, 89 

Lower  Helderberg  group 463, 477, 506 

Lower  Magnesian  limestone 117 

Madison  county,  geology  of 249 

Madison  county.analysis  of  coals  of,  255,256 

Madison  county,  Coal  Measures  in 253 

Madison  county,  St. Louis  limestone...  257 
Madison  county, economical  geology  of  259 
Madison  county.hydraulic  limestone  in  260 

Makanda  coal 516 

Man,  antiquity  of 10 

Matter,  eternity  of 10 

Massac  county,  geology  of 379 

Massac  county.geological  formations  of, 386 

Massac  county,  St.  Louis  group  in 387 

Massac  county,  Chester  group  in 391 

Massac  county,  Tertiary  beds  in 400 

Massac  county,  economical  geology  of  406 

Massac  county,  lead  ore  in 406 

Massac  county,  iron  ore  in 408 

Massac  county,  building  material 409 

Massac  county,  Indian  remains  in 410 

Metamorphic  rocks,  how  formed 11 

Metamorphic  rocks  of  Illinois 12 

Metallic  ores,  mode  of  occurrence  of . . .    18 

Metallic  ores  in  drift  27 

Murphysboro  coal,  analysis  of 524 

Murphysboro  coal : 515,521 

Murphysboro  coal,  section  of 515 

Niagara  limestone 100, 138 

Niagara  limestone,  analysis  of 103,105 

Onondaga  beds 458, 461, 481, 505, 507, 525 

Oriskany  group 95,462,478,505,506 

Peat,  how  formed 29 

Peat,  uses  of 28 

Permian  rocks,  remarks  on .    37 


INDEX. 


Ill 


Pope  county,  geology  of 411 

Pope  county,  geological  formations  of.  413 
Pope  county,  St.  Louis  limestone  in  ...  414 

Pope  county,  Chester  group  in 415 

Pope  county,  Conglomerate  in 435 

Pope  county,  outcrops  of  coal  in 443 

Pope  county,  iron  ores  in 445 

Pope  county,  lead  ores  in 447 

Pope  county,  mineral  springs  in 451 

Pope  county,  potters'  clay  in 453 

Pope  county,  building  materials  in  —  454 

Pope  county,  Indian  remains  in 455 

Potters' clay 470,496,528 

Prairies 7 

Prairies,  formation  of 178 

Pulaski  county,  geology  of 358 

Pulaski  county,  geological  formations 

of 361 

Pulaski  county,  Tertiary  beds  in 362 

Pulaski  county,  economical  geology  of  373 

Pulaski  county,  minerals  of 374 

Pulaski  county,  soil  and  timber  of 376 

Pulaski  county.  St.  Louis  limestone  in.  363 

Quaternary  system 19,521 

Randolph  county,  geology  of 210 

Randolph  county,  fruit  soils  of 211 

Randolph  county,  varieties  of  timber  in  212 
Randolph  county,  Coal  Measures  of  ...  214 
Randolph  county,  Chester  group  in....  217 
Randolph  county,  St.  Louis  limestone 

in  225 

Randolph  county,  economical  geology 

of 226 

Randolph  county  coal,  amount  in 229 

Richarts'  coal 517 

Saltpetre  caves 526 

Sediments,  how  accumulated 14 

„    (65.225,242,257.270,293, 
St.  Louis  group  -j  322i  SGI,  353, 387,  414, 484, 509 

St.  Louis  group,  fossils  of 66, 69, 295 

St.  Clair  county,  geology  of 231 


PAGE 

St.  Clair  county,  Coal  Measures  in 234 

St.  Clair  county,  coals,  analyses  of 244 

St.  Clair  county,  hydraulic  limestone  in  246 
St.  Clair  county,  economical  geology  of  248 

St.  Clair  county,  Chester  group  in 240 

St.  Clair  county,  St.  Louis  limestone  in  242 

Stratified  rocks,  how  formed 11 

St.  Peters  sandstone 115, 128 

Swallow  rock 514 

Tertiary  beds 35 

Tertiary  beds,  sharks'  teeth  in 36 

Tertiary  beds,  Pulaski  county 366 

Tertiary  beds,  Massac  county 400 

Thebes  sandstone 107, 466 

Trenton  limestone...  109,114 


Union  county, 

Union  county, 

Union  county, 

in 

Union  county 
in 

Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county. 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county. 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county, 
Union  county 


geology  in 473 

section  of  rocks  in 476 

lower  Helderberg  group 
477 

,  Clear  Creek  limestone 

478 

Onondaga  group  in 481 

Hamilton  group  in 482 

black  slate  in 482 

siliceous  shales  in 483 

Onondaga  sandstone . . .'  480 

,  St.  Louis  group  in 484 

Chester  group  in  —  —  487 

Conglomerate  in. . . .' 493 

economical  geology  of. .  494 
superficial  deposits  in..  494 

agricultural  resources  in  500 

iron  oresof 495 

lead  ores  in 496 

potters'  clay  of 4% 

marbles  of 498 

burr- stones  of 499 

.mineral  springs  of 499 


Vine  culture,  report  on,  ,in  Hancock 
county,  by  N.  W.  Bliss,  esq 287,289 


—35 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


5E5C7oS,CAL  GEOLOGY  OF  ILLINOIS  8PRINGF, 


